People Don’t Ask Questions

People don’t bother with understanding.

Really, they don’t.

When I tweet something like “Maybe it’s interesting to care more about polar bears” I get replies in the form of “It is a bad idea to own penguins” or “Indeed, global warming is a big problem”. But I was neither referring to penguins, nor ownership, nor global warming.

When I complain about something like “Riding my bicycle is a real pain” half a dozen people will suggest that I switch to a submarine or a spaceship. But submarines and spaceships are totally different kinds of things than bicycles. They wouldn’t solve the problem. (And they would only add others.)

When I say “I cannot bake a cake” I mean I don’t have time to make one. But people don’t wait for such an explanation. Instead, they will start offering cake recipes, cake ingredients, replacement ovens, and how to work my way around a cake allergy.

Very few people bother with understanding.

They have lots of great ideas, opinions, and suggestions.

But very few start by offering questions.