Master Your Questioning Skills

My novel years resolution for 2018 was to "ask more/better/crazier questions."

To realize this resolution, I knew I needed to implement it every bit a system. So I committed to "ask at to the lowest degree a twain of MAD questions inwards each weblog post." After or so 12 months together with lxx posts, these are what I learned from this exercise.

1. Questioning is really useful

Adding the MAD questions department significantly extended/complemented my posts, together with amongst petty effort. Just past times adding this section, I went for some other 15-20 minutes, forcing myself out of my default mode. Sometimes I grudgingly did it, only because I had committed to it, but almost ever I was surprised past times how useful it was.

Many times the MAD questions department got longer than the primary postal service body. And on average it was most 25% of the primary body. Questioning also improved the primary content, together with I had incorporated the findings/leads from some of the MAD questions inwards the primary trunk of the post. I proceed many half-baked posts inwards my blog.org file, together with had it non been for the questioning that extended the content, I mightiness non receive got published many of those posts.

2. Questioning is a frame of mind

I constitute that questioning delivered those goodness results amongst relatively petty effort.

I mean value the argue for this is because our default mode is to non query things. We receive got been implicitly taught this at our family, school, together with work. Asking also many questions, specially hard ones, is frowned upon inwards polite company. Moreover, the human encephalon is programmed to relieve unloosen energy together with acquire piece of cake on itself, so it prefers shallow tasks together with tries to avoid intense thinking sessions required for many creative tasks. By quest questions it is possible to prime number the pump together with proceed the encephalon to a greater extent than engaged.

Coming upward amongst the questions is non difficult, 1 time y'all locomote out of your default mode together with give yourself the license to indulge inwards the questioning frame of mind.

3. To inquire ameliorate questions, brand it a MAD question

By calling these questions MAD questions, I gave myself the license/protection to acquire wild, uninhibited past times traditional assumptions/constraints. This gave rising to reducing the bar, together with approaching the theme amongst a beginner mind, every bit an outsider. This made it easier to inquire to a greater extent than original questions.

By detaching together with discarding the baggage of tradition, y'all tin start working from the inaugural of all principles. You should recall that questioning is the beginning, non the end. There is a separation of concerns: y'all inaugural of all focus on what needs to locomote done, together with non how it needs to locomote done. So, initially, y'all don't demand to locomote afraid of the difficulty of the answers every bit it is non your occupation for now.

So, don't experience intimidated to query the basic assumptions that people inwards your plain accept every bit granted. They may every bit good locomote due for replacement anyway.

4. To acquire to the goodness questions, acquire over amongst the bad questions

Bad questions atomic number 82 to goodness questions. So curl amongst them together with exhaust them to acquire to the goodness questions. Don't quit prematurely, every bit goodness things volition spill out if y'all acquire a fleck deeper. And do this inwards a stress-free vogue existence assured that something volition eventually come upward if y'all persist a fleck more.

You should approach this similar brainstorming together with freewriting.

5. A goodness query oft involves a perspective change 

A goodness query is similar a goodness joke. It has an unexpected chemical constituent together with provides a perspective change.  After I acquire through some questions together with I eventually brand it to a goodness question, I receive got a visceral reaction similar to that of hearing a goodness joke.

A goodness query gives y'all a perspective modify that is productive. It opens a novel expanse to explore. It creates novel relations/connections.

After next the higher upward suggestions for quest questions, the why together with what if questions tin aid y'all acquire to the perspective-changing questions.

A modify inwards perspective is worth lxxx IQ points. --Alan Kay

MAD questions


1. Is questioning how nosotros think? If so, tin nosotros mean value ameliorate past times questioning better?
I experience similar my thinking is done by together with large via quest questions. But of course of written report I also demand to locomote thinking to inquire those questions inwards the inaugural of all place, don't I? So I don't know who is the existent hero here. (This reminds me of the joke: "My belt holds my pants up, but the belt loops concur my belt up. I don't genuinely know what's happening downward there. Who is the existent hero?" ---Mitch Hedberg)

To locomote fair, let's telephone telephone questioning every bit a catalyst for thinking. It seems similar they bootstrap each other.

Questions also serve every bit an interrupt for sanity check, self-inspection, together with going meta on the task.

Finally, questions also play an of import role inwards the agency we master/internalize things. I relate really or so Barry Diller's approach to learning past times deconstructing together with agreement from the substitution elements.
DILLER:​ ​By role or past times temperament, I'm solely interested inwards those things where I haven’t figured it out, together with I genuinely do mean value that soundless it happened, that when I was presented endlessly amongst things I didn’t understand, the solely thing I could do—because my encephalon is slower, together with thence is to a greater extent than literal—and thence my procedure is, I receive got to acquire it downward to its tiniest particle, or else... I can’t come upward inwards together with sympathize an equation, if y'all tin seat it inwards equation terms, unless I de-equation it—I can’t alternative it up. So I’m forced – past times a lack of encephalon matter, I am forced to – no I’m non maxim it – it’s true! To interruption it downward every bit hardly depression every bit I tin acquire it, together with solely then—and that’s learning. That’s existent – that is joyous operate to me, is getting through those layers, downward to something, together with and so 1 time I’m downward there, 1 time I’m genuinely at the very, really base of operations of it, I tin genuinely start to do something good.


2. Can nosotros process questioning every bit a tool?
I mean value questioning tin locomote viewed every bit a tool, together with nosotros volition increasingly start to process it every bit a valuable tool inwards the historic menstruum of large information together with machine learning information applied scientific discipline markets. The information is already out there, nosotros only demand to inquire the correct questions to the search engines, practiced systems, together with machine learning based digital assistants. The easy/usual questions volition already locomote asked past times the machine learning systems. To differentiate nosotros should larn how to inquire the goodness questions. In Synthetic Serendipity, Vernor Vinge brusque sci-fi story, the highschool had a course of written report called "Search together with Analysis" that aims to learn students to inquire the correct questions to the search engines together with practiced systems.

Even when the information is non there, if y'all inquire the correct question, abide by the correct perspective to approach to it, the solution fleck is non that hard. Questioning acts every bit a tool for framing/reframing. This is what the original of gedankenexperiment has to order on questioning.
If I had an hr to solve a occupation together with my life depended on the solution, I would pass the inaugural of all 55 minutes determining the proper query to ask... for 1 time I know the proper question, I could solve the occupation inwards less than 5 minutes. --Albert Einstein

So, going forward, shouldn't nosotros receive got to a greater extent than tools/support for questioning every bit a tool? What are some tools (mindmaps, etc.) y'all know that are designed to aid back upward questioning/framing?


3. Is it possible to learn how to inquire swell questions?
Answers are teachable, so nosotros learn answers. But nosotros don't learn how to question. In kindergarten together with primary school, the kids are already pretty goodness at questioning, but come upward pump schoolhouse most kids halt quest questions. I don't know perchance students that inquire questions come upward across hard to care together with contrarian, together with acquire discouraged past times teachers together with adults.

We (academicians) seek to learn questioning during PhD past times agency of examples/apprenticeship. I am non aware of whatever organized/formal agency that quest ameliorate questions is existence taught. There is no course of written report or goodness mass on it, every bit far every bit I tin see.

However, I soundless believe questioning is a science together with tin locomote teachable. What if nosotros could do a course of written report on this? It volition probable locomote a hands-on learn-by-case-studies class, but at to the lowest degree nosotros tin render to a greater extent than back upward together with textile than maxim "watch me inquire questions together with start imitating".

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