It has come to my attention that I don’t, in fact, know everything. While this fundamental truth may come as no surprise to you, I know I’ve tried to convince myself from time to time that it is untrue. My pride inevitably gets in the way, and I don’t want to look foolish by admitting I don’t know something others expect me to know.
When I’m honest, however, I’ve found admitting I don’t know something assumed to be obvious to all can actually work to my advantage.
Allow me to illustrate with a simple example. I was working on a software project with a good friend, and at one point he was explaining part of the project that required my cooperation so that our two pieces would connect properly. I didn’t completely follow his description of the interface we were supposed to build to allow our two parts to communicate properly, so I stopped him and asked him to back up and describe it a bit more simply.
I could have pretended to understand, and made my best attempt to create my part as I understood the project, but I’m certain we would have had some serious problems if I had chosen that route. Being willing to ask the “dumb question” actually helped us significantly, because we were able to better accomplish our task, and it actually saved us both time and effort in the long run.
So, while I readily admit when I don’t know something these days, I can’t say it makes me feel any less intelligent in the process. The truth is, I learn more when I’m willing to be dumb, and walk away smarter for it.
Be glad when people ask you dumb questions. Say, ‘Thank you for asking.’ This will keep them from doing something dumb.
— Allan Cox