Reflect on Smart Questions
26 Jan 2017Smart is Relative
“Smart” is such a relative term. In today’s society we look at those relative to ourselves and assign labels. However, looking back on history we can clearly see who was smart relative to the average at the time. With the advent of the internet, we can now have a history on a personal level. Every single keystroke and message that we post online has the ability to be recalled by anyone with a connection. With that being said, anonymity has given rise to what we call trolls. People understand that it is generally very difficult to trace exactly who is who and who said what on the internet. This being best illustrated by the great webcomic Penny Arcade with their own theory on the subject. Because of this there comes the need to differentiate between the good (smart), the bad, and the ugly (trolls).
Where?
With all of the hate that could potentially flow towards you, why would anyone even ask a question on the internet? The answer is that while there is mostly hate out there, occasionally there are some good things that trickle back. But most of the time people like to mess with you. It becomes important to carefully choose the venue in which to ask your question. Ask it on a youtube comment section and you will most likely get garbage. Ask it in a more reputable location such as stackoverflow and you have much better odds.
This is an example of a good question. In this particular instance, the individual has found something. He shows what it is that he found, and asks what else there is that could be learned from it. What follows is a surprisingly civil discussion on the topic and people do their best to explain each and every aspect of the topic. The main thing that he does correct here is that he shows that he is willing to do work to find the answer, but reached a point where he could no longer find the information he was seeking, and then asked for help.
Conversely…
Here’s the thing. Trolls have existed for a while, its just that a fair number of them have gone undocumented. Online however, their infamy lives on. There are places where you can look up famous trolls and check out ways to mess with people yourself. Trolls will never go away until we inevitably end up with a all-powerful government who controls us down to our thoughts. But barring that they are here to stay.