A slightly different sort of benefit to asking for help: it gives an opportunity to potentially start a collaboration / mentorship / friendship. I find when reading older autobiographies that important relationships often started when e.g. they read a book and had a question, but no one they knew could answer it, so they eventually sent a letter to the author of the book.
These days the internet means that asking someone is much less frequently the most efficient way to find out some information. And even if you do ask someone they’re more likely to send you an email than to invite you round for tea. But these opportunities to connect with people seem very important, so I think it’s good to take this into account when deciding if it’s better to ask someone or work something out yourself. It might also mean we need more explicit opportunities to connect with people than were necessary in the past.
A slightly different sort of benefit to asking for help: it gives an opportunity to potentially start a collaboration / mentorship / friendship. I find when reading older autobiographies that important relationships often started when e.g. they read a book and had a question, but no one they knew could answer it, so they eventually sent a letter to the author of the book.
These days the internet means that asking someone is much less frequently the most efficient way to find out some information. And even if you do ask someone they’re more likely to send you an email than to invite you round for tea. But these opportunities to connect with people seem very important, so I think it’s good to take this into account when deciding if it’s better to ask someone or work something out yourself. It might also mean we need more explicit opportunities to connect with people than were necessary in the past.