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I was asked a very interesting question today. Basically, someone asked me why I thought a certain question was dangerous (a response to an ff.net story). And I got to thinking...behold, I wax philosophizical!
If you really think about it, "Why?" is probably the oldest question, and the most pondered--throughout time, humanity has always wondered "Why? Why are we here? Why do we exist? Why does the toast always land butter-side down? Why, why, why?" Now, the existentialistic answer would be "Why not?" My mother learned that little philosophical gem after she nearly failed her philosophy class in college by answering the question "Why?" with "Because!" (She grew up in a house with a strict mother, you see.) But I think it goes far deeper than that. Let me explain.
They say that there's no such thing as a stupid question. But questions themselves can be dangerous--the right question asked at the right time is more powerful than any weapon. This sort of falls back on the idea that "The pen is mightier than the sword." It's true--you can do more damage with well-placed words than with a hammer--unless you're trying to build something. Then you'll want the hammer. But when it comes to people, the damage that can be done with Pointed Questions is far longer-lasting and can far outweigh that of a gun or a blade.
I've always believed that "Why?" is the most dangerous of the questions, though. Ironically enough, if I said that, some of you would probably ask "Why?" Because of its ambiguity. If you ask any of the other big question words (Who, Where, What, When, or How), you will probably get a fairly straightforward, factual answer. Such is their nature. But Why is ambiguous. You might get an answer completely different from whatever it was that you were expecting. There really isn't a right or wrong answer with Why, which kind of defies the nature of questions themselves. Something that cannot be anticipated is something that is potentially dangerous--such is human nature. We do not like to be surprised or confronted by something we cannot control.
Yet we always ask "Why?" Yet another little quirk of humanity. We truly are fascinating creatures.
Thank you,
~ Candy-chan ^_^
"If your love is a grain of sand, then mine is a universe of beaches."
- The Princess Bride
If you really think about it, "Why?" is probably the oldest question, and the most pondered--throughout time, humanity has always wondered "Why? Why are we here? Why do we exist? Why does the toast always land butter-side down? Why, why, why?" Now, the existentialistic answer would be "Why not?" My mother learned that little philosophical gem after she nearly failed her philosophy class in college by answering the question "Why?" with "Because!" (She grew up in a house with a strict mother, you see.) But I think it goes far deeper than that. Let me explain.
They say that there's no such thing as a stupid question. But questions themselves can be dangerous--the right question asked at the right time is more powerful than any weapon. This sort of falls back on the idea that "The pen is mightier than the sword." It's true--you can do more damage with well-placed words than with a hammer--unless you're trying to build something. Then you'll want the hammer. But when it comes to people, the damage that can be done with Pointed Questions is far longer-lasting and can far outweigh that of a gun or a blade.
I've always believed that "Why?" is the most dangerous of the questions, though. Ironically enough, if I said that, some of you would probably ask "Why?" Because of its ambiguity. If you ask any of the other big question words (Who, Where, What, When, or How), you will probably get a fairly straightforward, factual answer. Such is their nature. But Why is ambiguous. You might get an answer completely different from whatever it was that you were expecting. There really isn't a right or wrong answer with Why, which kind of defies the nature of questions themselves. Something that cannot be anticipated is something that is potentially dangerous--such is human nature. We do not like to be surprised or confronted by something we cannot control.
Yet we always ask "Why?" Yet another little quirk of humanity. We truly are fascinating creatures.
Thank you,
~ Candy-chan ^_^
"If your love is a grain of sand, then mine is a universe of beaches."
- The Princess Bride
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