Yes Virginia, There Are Stupid Questions

The title of this debate can be misconstrued as more silly than serious, so an apology is unnecessary. My opponent attempts to manipulate the circumstances of each example question to extract the "stupidity" from them, but her attempts are based purely on unsupported speculation and personal opinion, making her attempts superficial at best. Being subjective does not diminish the overwhelming existence of stupidity, and someone's personal opinion of a work of art cannot be compared to asking a stupid question. A more appropriate comparison would be someone with a knowledge of how heat can burn, grabbing a very hot object, that they know is too hot, with their bare hands. After, "Are you alright?" The first words likely uttered, possibly even by the person grabbing the object would be, "Wow, that was stupid." Fact: People do and say stupid things. Questions are not immune to that stupidity. Few will argue that an experienced teacher can quickly recognize dyslexia. Fewer will claim that a teacher would belittle such a condition. Looking at the source, logic and reason dictate that the student posing the question is not mentally afflicted. Asking how to spell something that obviously spells itself is not due to any form of ignorance; it is due to a failure to stop and think, plain and simple. The question, no matter how you look at it, is a stupid one. A question of sanity is mentioned. This is a non sequitur, as sanity is not a factor. Neither dyslexia or lack of sanity can be ascertained from the source. My opponent claims to have received no "geography or 'astrological' (though she likely meant "asrtonomical") learning" until she was in (year 10) high school. I can only respond by asking for the names of the elementary and middle/junior high schools she attended, so I can report them for failing to properly educate their students. I am unaware of any lower level schools that fail to teach the basics of geography and astronomy. If my opponent can prove that the student posing the question was reasonably ignorant, fine. However, the teacher presenting the situation is under the clear impression that the student should have known better. That being the case, the question is a stupid one. My agreement that a question is warped was an introduction to cynicism, nothing more. That the question is stupid is highly relevant, because the question is highly stupid. What is irrelevant is comparing the question to a statement started half way through one's head. The question that confuses kilometers and miles clearly has nothing to do with half spoken thoughts. The person asking the question is clearly an American tourist visiting Canada. I challenge my opponent to find one single institution of education in America that does not teach all primary measuring systems. My opponent's manipulation of the circumstances to allow for an accusation of ignorance is itself ignorant. The circumstances in the source make it very clear that the person posing the question is without excuse. The question remains stupid. My opponent attempts to manipulate the attorney questions into bullying tactics to justify them as "not stupid." But she fails, because even if applied as a bullying tactic, the questions could easily be thrown back into their faces. Example 1 Q. "Was it you or your brother who died?" A. "I don't know, why don't you ask my brother?" Example 2 Q. "How many times have you committed suicide?" A. "I don't know, I've lost count. How many times does it look like I've died?" In both examples, the attorney is made to look foolish. So, no matter what the tactic, the questions remain stupid. My opponent believes that claiming a question can be stupid discourages people from asking questions. This is, to some degree, true. But people who carefully form questions in their mind need not fear. Take the earlier example of someone grabbing a burning object, that they know is too hot, with their bare hand. Doing so is careless, foolish, completely lacking common sense. In other words, stupid. So, because people do stupid things, should they therefore be afraid to do anything? Of course not, they should simply be more mindful, thinking the action out first. The same applies to asking questions. My opponent should be praised for her attitude. Her heart is in the right place, but it does not follow a reasonable and logical line of thinking. We should recognize that there are indeed stupid questions, just as there are stupid actions, so that we can refine questions to be more productive, and not so "entertaining." Note: I have responded to my opponent as if she were female. There is nothing I noted in her profile that establishes gender, and her style of writing seems more feminine than masculine, so I responded accordingly. If she is in fact a he, then I offer my apologies.