Previously I thought that if you ask better questions then you will get better at solving problems. However questions are the shadows or reflections cast from the actual framing of the problem. If you have a well framed problem you will naturally ask better questions. If you haven’t framed the problem well, then you will ask bad questions.
Bad questions are still useful because they are a signal that you are “barking up the wrong tree” or that you need to reformulate the problem.
What marks a bad question and therefore signals a framing of the problem that is unconducive to solving it?
There’s probably a myriad of ways a question can be bad. It appears that most of the questions which signal a failure to frame a problem well are vague. Imagine someone who wants to become a Academy Award winning Cinematographer asks “has anyone every won an Academy Award for Cinematography without going to film school?” the answer is of course “yes”, especially in the early days of the award. But it is not a useful question in that it doesn’t narrow down which actions this aspiring cinematographer should take, avoid, nor clarifies which factors will most impede or expedite their journey. It is only useful in that it shows they are not asking useful questions and therefore their entire formulation of the problem needs work. Better questions are more useful questions.
Much like measures better questions are ones that influence decisions—if a change in answer to a question doesn’t change your decision, then it’s not a useful question.
Popular wisdom encourages us to ask open ended questions, especially those which ask “why?” or “how?”. While this is true for seeking advice or having discussions with experts or building consensus. Better questions even in these circumstances tend to be specific. (i.e. asking for vague help “how can I be a great cinematographer?” versus asking for specific advice “how did Michael Ballhaus light this scene in the nightclub in Under the Cherry Moon? How does it differ to his colour nightclub cinematography in Lola? Why did he make those decisions?” ). However open ended questions may not be better questions in the absence of an expert to ask, however specific they may be.
It is less Socratic, more something out of Yes, Minister, in that I don’t know what I don’t know—so if I ask myself rather than an expert “Why does this problem pervade?” all I can answer is a sort of tentative guess or what I believe is not a likely answer. Whereas an expert may be able to plug my knowledge gaps.
I am undecided whether this means why/how questions potentially better suited for assessing our knowledge or at least our confidence in our knowledge concerning the framing of the problem, but in the absence of an expert, not particularly useful.
Counterpoint: the circumstances where the questions appear to be “good” or “better” questions but you’re still solving the wrong problem? They are good for the problem you are mistakenly trying to solve.
Previously I thought that if you ask better questions then you will get better at solving problems. However questions are the shadows or reflections cast from the actual framing of the problem. If you have a well framed problem you will naturally ask better questions. If you haven’t framed the problem well, then you will ask bad questions.
Bad questions are still useful because they are a signal that you are “barking up the wrong tree” or that you need to reformulate the problem.
What marks a bad question and therefore signals a framing of the problem that is unconducive to solving it?
There’s probably a myriad of ways a question can be bad. It appears that most of the questions which signal a failure to frame a problem well are vague. Imagine someone who wants to become a Academy Award winning Cinematographer asks “has anyone every won an Academy Award for Cinematography without going to film school?” the answer is of course “yes”, especially in the early days of the award. But it is not a useful question in that it doesn’t narrow down which actions this aspiring cinematographer should take, avoid, nor clarifies which factors will most impede or expedite their journey. It is only useful in that it shows they are not asking useful questions and therefore their entire formulation of the problem needs work. Better questions are more useful questions.
Much like measures better questions are ones that influence decisions—if a change in answer to a question doesn’t change your decision, then it’s not a useful question.
Popular wisdom encourages us to ask open ended questions, especially those which ask “why?” or “how?”.
While this is true for seeking advice or having discussions with experts or building consensus. Better questions even in these circumstances tend to be specific. (i.e. asking for vague help “how can I be a great cinematographer?” versus asking for specific advice “how did Michael Ballhaus light this scene in the nightclub in Under the Cherry Moon? How does it differ to his colour nightclub cinematography in Lola? Why did he make those decisions?” ). However open ended questions may not be better questions in the absence of an expert to ask, however specific they may be.
It is less Socratic, more something out of Yes, Minister, in that I don’t know what I don’t know—so if I ask myself rather than an expert “Why does this problem pervade?” all I can answer is a sort of tentative guess or what I believe is not a likely answer. Whereas an expert may be able to plug my knowledge gaps.
I am undecided whether this means why/how questions potentially better suited for assessing our knowledge or at least our confidence in our knowledge concerning the framing of the problem, but in the absence of an expert, not particularly useful.
Counterpoint: the circumstances where the questions appear to be “good” or “better” questions but you’re still solving the wrong problem? They are good for the problem you are mistakenly trying to solve.