To ask or not to ask? That is the Question.
25 Jan 2024
The Smart Questions
After reading ‘How To Ask Questions The Smart Way’ by Eric Steven Raymond, I realized that asking questions wasn’t as simple as I first thought.
The content of the question has to be abundant but not overloaded. It has to be precise but not too generalized. It has to be explicit, not obscure. It needs to be something that can’t be easily answered with a simple ‘Google Search’. Additionally, the question needs to have appropriate grammar for the reader to understand it. The previous requirements match both of these questions perfectly: What is a NullPointerException, and how do I fix it? and What and where are the stack and heap?.
What is a NullPointerException, and how do I fix it and What and where are the stack and heap?.
The first question is simply about the NullPointerException Error and how to fix it. The developer who asked this question even goes more in-depth and asks how the problem occurs, as well as if there are any methods to prevent it from happening. This question has a simple header that grasps people’s attention and then delves into more topics related to the header. The second question is about the Stack and the Heap. The header asks about ‘what’ and ‘where’ they are but then expands into more questions, such as where they are physically located in a computer’s memory, what determines their sizes, what makes one faster, etc. This question is also simple but it generates even more simple and quick questions that can be further explained by the person providing the answer. This allows the explainer to offer a thoughtful explanation about the topic.
Capturing the essence of these questions is crucial for software engineers. Utilizing the way these questions were asked is useful because you’re not only learning from the question but also helping others understand it. It enables the questioner to thoughtfully pose their question while making it easy for the listener to comprehend and respond with an appropriate answer.
The Not So Smart Questions
On the other hand, this question about Looking for a photo rating script is not like the previously mentioned questions. This question was asked because the developer wanted a coding script that allowed the user to rate a photo. There is nothing wrong with the question; it’s just that the questioner won’t grow as a software engineer by asking in this type of way. This question was posed by a developer who isn’t seeking an explanation and the opportunity to learn from it; they are simply looking for a direct answer. This isn’t a good method to follow as a software engineer. While getting answers is great, the reason for asking ‘smart’ questions is to learn from the question, not just to obtain the answer. It’s akin to the saying, ‘It’s not about the journey but the destination’.
ChatGPT
I asked ChatGPT to check for spelling errors, and to correct any grammatical errors