A question about questions and answers

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nelsone

New User
Ed
In light of a couple current threads I have a question (remember "there are no stupid questions!:cool:) about answers! If someone responds to a question with an indirect answer does that make it a bad answer? What if they don't give an answer but help lead you down a path to find the answer? If part of our mission is learning, do we learn more from being handed an answer or being challenged to find the answer?

This is mostly rhetorical and applies to methods, but I am curious to what others think on this topic!
 

Joe Scharle

New User
Joe
I can only answer for myself, but by the time I ask for help I've pretty much exhausted my own means and just want he facts.
 

Trent Mason

New User
Trent Mason
I think that's a loaded question. :gar-La; I think that sharing knowledge is almost a responsibility for someone who is an expert at something. If people always figured out cutting edge techniques and never shared them, it doesn't allow for the advancement of the art itself. If someone is an expert at something, there is usually more to it than simply telling someone how to do it. It usually involves such precise technique that most others can not do it anyway. My .02
 

Trent Mason

New User
Trent Mason
I can only answer for myself, but by the time I ask for help I've pretty much exhausted my own means and just want he facts.

Me too Joe, or I don't have time to spend days trying to figure it out on my own.

-OR- the more common example for me:

That I did it the most complicated way it could've been done. :BangHead::BangHead::BangHead: :rotflm:
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
For me it's like a trip to the BORG. Usually I know the general location of what I want, but sometimes I get frustrated & can't find something. Once I finally ask a Customer Service Rep, it usually appears in plain sight.
Like Trent, I often over complicate a problem sometimes & have to get back to the KISS philosophy. That's where this group is very helpful. Everybody here has had experiences they are willing to share - good or bad - devoid of ego and offered in a helpful spirit. For the ones that haven't had the benefit of these experiences support is offered in a friendly atmosphere.
 

CrealBilly

New User
Jeff
The Short answer is NO and so is the long answer - there is more than one way to skin a cat but I wont go into the 4 different ways I know :)

Do I make this cut with a handsaw / tablesaw / router / jointer / Chisel @ noggin knocker / Rock and Screwdriver...? You get the point. That's the cool thing about this site - you get many different perspectives from varying degrees of experience. it ranges from "off grid" WWing to those who have a shop full of 3phase power tools that cost many times what there house and property are worth. You got guys who love a foot of saw dust on the floor of their shop to those who wouldn't allow a single piece of dust to hit the floor.
 

FredP

Fred
Corporate Member
ok.... I got a question.
3 guys go to a hotel to get a room for the night.:cool: the manager is not there so the bell hop tells them we only have 1 room available:elvis: but it's a big room with 3 beds.:widea: they take it and the bell hop collects 30 dollars. :cool: 10 from each man.:icon_thum later the manager comes back and the bell hop tells him what he did. :gar-Bi
oh no said the manager that room is only 25 dollars:swoon: so he gives the bell hop 5 dollars and sends him to give the change to the 3 men.:cool:
on the way the bell hop is trying to figure out how to devide the money up.:dontknow: frustrated, he shoves 2 dollars in his pocket and gives each of the men 1 dollar each.:icon_scra
well this means the men payed 9 dollars each.:eusa_clap
3x9=27 plus the 2 in his pocket makes 29. with me so far?:wwink:

where's the other dollar?????:rotflm:
 

cpw

Charles
Corporate Member
In light of a couple current threads I have a question (remember "there are no stupid questions!:cool:) about answers! If someone responds to a question with an indirect answer does that make it a bad answer? What if they don't give an answer but help lead you down a path to find the answer? If part of our mission is learning, do we learn more from being handed an answer or being challenged to find the answer?

This is mostly rhetorical and applies to methods, but I am curious to what others think on this topic!

Ed,
As an academic librarian this is what I deal with all day long. One of the college's stated goals is Information Literacy, and thus we try to foster the knowledge and skills necessary to be an independent researcher. With every exchange I have to try and decide whether to teach them "how to fish" or just had over the fish, and I don't always get it right.

All that said, I think in this environment, I tend to go with Joe and Trent. If I'm asking the question, I have exhausted my own resources, or I know that it is more expedient to use the NCWW "brain trust" than to fumble around and ferret out the answer on my own. In that sense, asking the question here IS research. In that spirit, I try to be as forthright and helpful as I can reasonably be and try not to answer questions that I really don't know anything about.

Most folks here are really nice and helpful, but I've gotten a few of those less-than-helpful wiseacre answers on other sites, and it just makes me wish I could reach through the monitor and smack 'em.

My 2 cents.

Charles
 

CrealBilly

New User
Jeff
ok.... I got a question.
3 guys go to a hotel to get a room for the night.:cool: the manager is not there so the bell hop tells them we only have 1 room available:elvis: but it's a big room with 3 beds.:widea: they take it and the bell hop collects 30 dollars. :cool: 10 from each man.:icon_thum later the manager comes back and the bell hop tells him what he did. :gar-Bi
oh no said the manager that room is only 25 dollars:swoon: so he gives the bell hop 5 dollars and sends him to give the change to the 3 men.:cool:
on the way the bell hop is trying to figure out how to devide the money up.:dontknow: frustrated, he shoves 2 dollars in his pocket and gives each of the men 1 dollar each.:icon_scra
well this means the men payed 9 dollars each.:eusa_clap
3x9=27 plus the 2 in his pocket makes 29. with me so far?:wwink:

where's the other dollar?????:rotflm:

What the
 

ErnieM

Ernie
Corporate Member
ok.... I got a question.
3 guys go to a hotel to get a room for the night.:cool: the manager is not there so the bell hop tells them we only have 1 room available:elvis: but it's a big room with 3 beds.:widea: they take it and the bell hop collects 30 dollars. :cool: 10 from each man.:icon_thum later the manager comes back and the bell hop tells him what he did. :gar-Bi
oh no said the manager that room is only 25 dollars:swoon: so he gives the bell hop 5 dollars and sends him to give the change to the 3 men.:cool:
on the way the bell hop is trying to figure out how to devide the money up.:dontknow: frustrated, he shoves 2 dollars in his pocket and gives each of the men 1 dollar each.:icon_scra
well this means the men payed 9 dollars each.:eusa_clap
3x9=27 plus the 2 in his pocket makes 29. with me so far?:wwink:

where's the other dollar?????:rotflm:

There is no other dollar! If the room cost $25 then each man's share is $8.33 1/3 cents. Each got a dollar back making each share of the cost $9.33 1/3 cents. That makes $28.00. Add the two dollars the bellhop kept and you're up to $30.00.

Now.... why did the chicken cross the street?:gar-La;:gar-La;

Ernie
 

FredP

Fred
Corporate Member
There is no other dollar! If the room cost $25 then each man's share is $8.33 1/3 cents. Each got a dollar back making each share of the cost $9.33 1/3 cents. That makes $28.00. Add the two dollars the bellhop kept and you're up to $30.00.

Now.... why did the chicken cross the street?:gar-La;:gar-La;

Ernie


yeh but thats not how the story was told....:gar-Bi as for the chicken.... to get away from the farmer of coarse. it was almost time for sunday dinner.:rotflm:
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
If you ask "how can I make a pen", that is one thing and deserves a full and thorough response.

If you ask "How can i duplicate your special-one-of-a-kind-extremely-high-priced-art", that is a whole different question and one I consider to be rude and intrusive.
 

Bas

Recovering tool addict
Bas
Corporate Member
I think there's another dimension to this.

If someone asks "could someone please cut these dovetails for me", then we're clearly in the territory of giving a man a fish as opposed to teaching him. But asking for help on why the tails aren't square to the board, giving an indirect answer there doesn't add much (other than looking like a jerk). Applying the answer and seeing the result, that definitely helps someone master something, it's not the easy way out.

With some questions, an indirect answer is required. Such as, "Which table saw should I buy?". There is no "right" answer to that...are you cutting sheet goods a lot? Do you have 220V? What sort of projects do you do? Is mobility important? What is your budget? What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow? In fact, a direct answer there is not helpful at all! Not unless you are currently listing some items in the Classifieds :)
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
I think it's been too darn cold this week & too many people aren't able to get in their shops & make sawdust so they're sittin' 'round the 'puter philosophizin' 'bout it. :gar-La;
 

nelsone

New User
Ed
If you ask "how can I make a pen", that is one thing and deserves a full and thorough response.

If you ask "How can i duplicate your special-one-of-a-kind-extremely-high-priced-art", that is a whole different question and one I consider to be rude and intrusive.
:wink_smil

Ed,
As an academic librarian this is what I deal with all day long. One of the college's stated goals is Information Literacy, and thus we try to foster the knowledge and skills necessary to be an independent researcher. With every exchange I have to try and decide whether to teach them "how to fish" or just had over the fish, and I don't always get it right.

All that said, I think in this environment, I tend to go with Joe and Trent. If I'm asking the question, I have exhausted my own resources, or I know that it is more expedient to use the North Carolina Woodworker "brain trust" than to fumble around and ferret out the answer on my own. In that sense, asking the question here IS research. In that spirit, I try to be as forthright and helpful as I can reasonably be and try not to answer questions that I really don't know anything about.

Most folks here are really nice and helpful, but I've gotten a few of those less-than-helpful wiseacre answers on other sites, and it just makes me wish I could reach through the monitor and smack 'em.

My 2 cents.

Charles

Points well made!

As I said, it was somewhat a rhetorical question and I think it has generated some interesting conversation. I agree with the comments. Generally if I am asking about for some advice about a technique or process, I am looking for a direct answer, possibly with some of the thought process behind it. That is really the nature of a site like this.

However, were I to ask someone how they did a unique skill they had developed, especially if it rose to the level of art, I wouldn't expect a direct answer.

Just some random thoughts! Thanks for indulging me!:gar-Bi
 

Dudelive

New User
Dude
I have been an auto technician for 40+ years and speaking for me.....after I have almost pulled out my hair to solve something and still with no answer, I have learned if I figure it out for myself then it will come closer to sticking with me.
Now if someone just happens to come along and fix it for me without going into details as to how, why and what caused it then all I have is a fixed job and hope like heck that I DON't have to do another one anytime soon because I will have no way of knowing where to start other than not to do the things that did not work before. Woodworking is no where as confusing as cars because I do small things that I know I can do with only a little help unlike auto repairs where it is almost a mystery as to why something went wrong or what ever.

Now to answer your question my way...If it is a question that concerns safety or could possibly cause someone harm and I am NOT 100% sure as to how to explain it where you can understand it, then asking questions to cause you to think it through will be the better way. That way you as the person asking the question actually figured it out with the help of questions that caused you to rethink your situation and the problem. So being given the answer may not be the best way to answer, it all depends on the problem at hand and the knowledge of the person asking the question.
 

DavidF

New User
David
This thread sort of ties in with Doug's thread about skill sets. If I was to ask the simple question "how do YOU cut dovetails" I will probably get several answers from people who's method works for them. However; you don't know what their dovetails look like, do you??? Then it may be better to ask "can YOU show me how you do dovetails" or sharpen a scraper, or flatten a board, etc. That isn't giving the man a fish, or telling him how to fish. Still you might be a crap fisherman as well:rotflm:
 
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