• Asking Questions Just Isn’t Cool

    I ask a lot of questions. I always have. As a child and teenager, this made me HUGELY unpopular and, let’s admit it, labeled me early on as less cool than the last kid picked for dodgeball.

    Why do so many people pretend they understand when they don’t?

    If you can answer this question to my satisfaction, so that I understand the majority of the universe, I will give you one of my fave Pilot G-2 pens.

    I am at a loss when I see people nod stupidly to some half-assed explanation or instruction and then slink away to do… well… something. Not what was asked, to be sure. But something, dangit! People seem to prefer to guess and fill in the blanks rather than get clarification straight from the source. I do not understand this, but apparently it’s one of the principal approaches to being cool, and I did NOT receive the memo.

    I remember asking five times as many questions as the people around me. My peers have always looked at me with this “why is he breaking the code?” kind of look. My teachers and bosses have always seemed to appreciate the practice, though. Which, of course, doesn’t contribute to the COOL factor either.

    If you are one of the COOL kids, let me know, please. What’s in the secret sauce? Why is it cool to not hear or understand what someone has told you? Seriously. I want to know.