Well, that’s what they usually ends up asking eventually, but I don’t like answering a different question than the one actually asked due to how many won’t notice. It feels like dark arts.
Oftentimes the role of “What is your favorite X?” is a conversation-starter. I think it’s perfectly honest to interpret “What’s your favorite kind of music?” as “What’s a kind of music that you like and which you’re willing to have a conversation about?”.
An exception is “What’s your favorite superhero?”, because you may be called on to defend your choice in an argument.
When asked for favorites or ‘what do you like to do for fun,’ I offer recommendations (for myself and/or the questioner). Or, to help the questioner generate recommendations, I give recent likes, potential likes, and/or liked/disliked characteristics. This way, we have ideas of what to do in the future and don’t get stuck on past interests or activities that have become boring. The NY Times website also uses the word “recommend,” instead of “like,” on its Facebook-share button.
[If you didn’t know this already: information about your preferences may be used by another’s (esp. a stranger’s) brain to calibrate how much to associate with or help you; see for example “Musical Taste and Ingroup Favouritism:” http://gpi.sagepub.com/content/12/3/319.abstract.]
“Why did you do that?” --> “Multiple factors...”
“What will you do” or “What should you do?”--> “Depends...”
My usual response to “what’s your favorite X?” is “well, ‘favorite’ is hard, but here’s are some Xes I like...”
Well, that’s what they usually ends up asking eventually, but I don’t like answering a different question than the one actually asked due to how many won’t notice. It feels like dark arts.
Oftentimes the role of “What is your favorite X?” is a conversation-starter. I think it’s perfectly honest to interpret “What’s your favorite kind of music?” as “What’s a kind of music that you like and which you’re willing to have a conversation about?”.
An exception is “What’s your favorite superhero?”, because you may be called on to defend your choice in an argument.
this is sometimes the case, but there are enough exceptions that one should not rely on it I think.
When asked for favorites or ‘what do you like to do for fun,’ I offer recommendations (for myself and/or the questioner). Or, to help the questioner generate recommendations, I give recent likes, potential likes, and/or liked/disliked characteristics. This way, we have ideas of what to do in the future and don’t get stuck on past interests or activities that have become boring. The NY Times website also uses the word “recommend,” instead of “like,” on its Facebook-share button. [If you didn’t know this already: information about your preferences may be used by another’s (esp. a stranger’s) brain to calibrate how much to associate with or help you; see for example “Musical Taste and Ingroup Favouritism:” http://gpi.sagepub.com/content/12/3/319.abstract.]
“Why did you do that?” --> “Multiple factors...”
“What will you do” or “What should you do?”--> “Depends...”