Ask and you may or may not receive
26 Jan 2021
Through the eyes of a child
As a computer science student, I admit that I am guilty of asking all sorts of questions. After learning a new concept in computer science, I am often left with a plethora of questions. Some smart, and some not so smart. I believe everyone is guilty of this when learning something new or challenging. It is the ability to formulate a question that allows one to learn. This is why kids often ask loads of questions to adults. They are taking in so much new information every day and they need to make sense of it all. They might ask a simple question like “What animal is that?” when looking at wildlife that they’ve never seen before. In this case, the answer is one word that identifies what kind of animal the child is looking at. In other instances they may ask “Why is the sky blue?”. In which case I still don’t know the answer to this day. Children will ask any question that pops into their minds at any given moment. Some will be easy and simple to answer, while others will be complex and may not have a solid answer. As adults and as students, we must filter out simple, easy-to-answer questions with complex, well thought out questions. With the power of the internet and forums like Stack overflow, simple questions with straight forward responses can be answered by Google. A part of asking a smart question is making sure the answer is not within your capacities. Did you expend all avenues for finding the answer? Or did you just get stumped for a minute and immediately ask for help? I found a question on StackOverflow that displays a question in which Google would have been a better option than consulting experts on an online forum.
Google is your best friend
In this question, a seeker of information asked the forum about the difference between public, protected, and private modifiers for classes or interfaces in Java. As someone who learned Java as my first programming language, I remember having this exact question myself. It seemed to be glossed over by our curriculum and no one ever really took time to explain it. In order to find the answer myself, I went into google and typed out that question into the search bar. As anticipated, the answer came up and was explained in great detail. There was no need for me to consult a professional online or even to consult my teacher. This would be an example of a question that was not so smart. This is because the answer was easily found with a quick Google search. In another instance of my browsing Stack Overflow, I stumbled upon a question that reads: “How to generate a random alphanumeric string”. After reading through this question, I chose to deem it as a smart question. There are a few reasons for this decision. First off, the language used in this question is clear and concise. Key words like generate, alphanumeric, and string help everyone understand the question easily. The second reason why this question is a smart question is because Google can’t answer it. Although we can type the question into Google and get a useful answer, the question is not that easy. This person is asking for an alphanumeric string of length twelve. This person then explains why and shows an example output that they would want. This person used the correct verbage and utilized keywords to portray what their question was and what kind of output they wanted. In return for their brevity, this programmer received lots of responses with potential solutions to his query. It really impressed me how thorough some of these responses are. This goes to show that with the right approach and proper questions, people are willing to help you.
I Wanna see some ask
After reading How to ask questions the right way by Eric Raymond, I became more aware of the depths of a good question. Sometimes our questions can be answered within our own means. With technology and the internet becoming so advanced these days, there aren’t many questions that Google cannot answer. And in the case that the internet or peers cannot answer your question, then we must learn to ask smart questions. I learned exactly what criteria a smart question meets after reading Raymond’s essay. This made me realize that the act of forming a clear question is the first step in receiving an accurate answer. Oftentimes on your journey to creating a smart question, you end up finding the answer yourself!