does anyone else agree that answers are easy, and finding the right question is the hard bit?

Answer 1

yea, i agree.We can answer the question from book, other people or anything. But the right question is must universal, cause every people can heard or see that answer. We must have many knowledge to get a right question.

Answer 2

Yeah, and I think I can guess why: when you answer a question, you take as given some set of meanings in which the question is sensible. You import an ontology from the asker of the question and use standard tools from
The Big Bag Of Metaphysical Assumptions to supply something like an answer to something like a question.

But when you ask a question, those meanings may be the cloudy mist you want cleared up by some friendly respondent. That is, you spit out the rough approximation of your puzzlement, and hope for a kind mind to help you find the hard edges you want. But, because you're actually puzzled, putting a precise shape to that puzzlement is necessarily a hard problem.

See fountaining chaos,
Then see the bounds
Of its shapelessness,
For the space that surrounds
That boil of confusion
Is its native intimate
And in some degree knows
Or is its limit

Opaque enough for you?

I must be in agreement with you. I haven't spit out a question yet. Stay tuned.

Answer 3

Of course not. Here's why:

If finding answers is easy, then the answer to the question "What question should I ask?" is easy to determine.

Therefore, finding the right question must be easy, too.

(If you need further evidence that most people have trouble coming up with remotely credible answers, just page through this site for a couple of minutes.)

Answer 4

I agree that finding the right question is difficult and then finding the right answers or answering them in the right way so to speak is even more difficult.

it is because some questions are so lightly answered that it makes answering on Yahoo easy.

Answer 5

No, I would have to disagree with you. I and many other people have questions. I have so many questions that I'm tired. I seem to have an answer for everything when it comes to other people but, all my questions are complex and I can't seem to find the one right answer for anything? Wonder why that is?

Answer 6

I think they're both pretty easy. Especially questions like, "Where's the bathroom?" and "Hey baby, would you like to get a cup of coffee with me at White Castle?" :-)

Xan Shui,
Philosophic Philanthropist, Honest Man

Answer 7

Yup. I think I must sit for 30 minutes trying to come up with something funny, witty or profound. Usually just end up with a Fart question....

Answer 8

yup. totally. that's why i've only asked <10 questions and yet answered more than 30+.. never could come up with interesting enough questions (that i actually would be bothered enough to read the answers).

Answer 9

Yes, too many immature people in some categories. In more technical categories, too many people ask questions which are inappropriate for the category.

Answer 10

Yes.