Are you Scottish?

[Tim Walker]

This question should fade as kilts are popularized.

[Graham]

I don't mind stupid questions. Asking questions is one of the smartest things we can do.

I get annoyed when asked questions by people who have not thought the question through or who could figure out the answer with a bit of thought.

Hang on a minute Bear, surely you have defined "stupid questions" here, but say you don't mind them, and then say they annoy you.

Maybe you mean "degrees" of stupidity?

Since I am an expert is asking stupid questions, I tend to be more tolerant of others who ask them of me.

It's only where malice or rudeness is received that i am reluctant to give an answer, but I rarely see that.

[Graham]

I don't mind stupid questions. Asking questions is one of the smartest things we can do.

I get annoyed when asked questions by people who have not thought the question through or who could figure out the answer with a bit of thought.

Hang on a minute Bear, surely you have defined "stupid questions" here, but say you don't mind them, and then say they annoy you.

Maybe you mean "degrees" of stupidity?

Since I am an expert is asking stupid questions, I tend to be more tolerant of others who ask them of me.

It's only where malice or rudeness is received that i am reluctant to give an answer, but I rarely see that.

[Graham]

I don't mind stupid questions. Asking questions is one of the smartest things we can do.

I get annoyed when asked questions by people who have not thought the question through or who could figure out the answer with a bit of thought.

Hang on a minute Bear, surely you have defined "stupid questions" here, but say you don't mind them, and then say they annoy you.

Maybe you mean "degrees" of stupidity?

Since I am an expert is asking stupid questions, I tend to be more tolerant of others who ask them of me.

It's only where malice or rudeness is received that i am reluctant to give an answer, but I rarely see that.

[bear]

I don't mind stupid questions. Asking questions is one of the smartest things we can do.

I get annoyed when asked questions by people who have not thought the question through or who could figure out the answer with a bit of thought.

Hang on a minute Bear, surely you have defined "stupid questions" here, but say you don't mind them, and then say they annoy you.

Maybe you mean "degrees" of stupidity?

Since I am an expert is asking stupid questions, I tend to be more tolerant of others who ask them of me.

It's only where malice or rudeness is received that i am reluctant to give an answer, but I rarely see that.

Graham,
I may have not made my point clearly.
On the street, a woman I did not know asked me if I was Scottish. I find this somewhat rude.
It is akin to asking an Indian man in a turban if he is Sikh. Of course he's Sikh!
Raphael gets asked if he is Scottish. Raphael is Chinese.
There are two kinds of stupid questions. The first kind is from a lack of knowledge. A computer novice might ask, "what is a computer mouse?" Stupid question, but understandable from a novice.
The second kind of stupid question is one that could be assumed or deduced from observation but the asker of the question is too lazy to think.

I don't mind the first kind of stupid question. That's a good way to learn. I always answer this kind of question because I like to help and teach others.
The second kind of stupid question is just intellectual laziness and usually bothers or embarrasses others. It's rudeness and while I normally explain about kilts, sometimes the demanding way the question is asked gets my fur up and I respond in kind.

[bear]

I don't mind stupid questions. Asking questions is one of the smartest things we can do.

I get annoyed when asked questions by people who have not thought the question through or who could figure out the answer with a bit of thought.

Hang on a minute Bear, surely you have defined "stupid questions" here, but say you don't mind them, and then say they annoy you.

Maybe you mean "degrees" of stupidity?

Since I am an expert is asking stupid questions, I tend to be more tolerant of others who ask them of me.

It's only where malice or rudeness is received that i am reluctant to give an answer, but I rarely see that.

Graham,
I may have not made my point clearly.
On the street, a woman I did not know asked me if I was Scottish. I find this somewhat rude.
It is akin to asking an Indian man in a turban if he is Sikh. Of course he's Sikh!
Raphael gets asked if he is Scottish. Raphael is Chinese.
There are two kinds of stupid questions. The first kind is from a lack of knowledge. A computer novice might ask, "what is a computer mouse?" Stupid question, but understandable from a novice.
The second kind of stupid question is one that could be assumed or deduced from observation but the asker of the question is too lazy to think.

I don't mind the first kind of stupid question. That's a good way to learn. I always answer this kind of question because I like to help and teach others.
The second kind of stupid question is just intellectual laziness and usually bothers or embarrasses others. It's rudeness and while I normally explain about kilts, sometimes the demanding way the question is asked gets my fur up and I respond in kind.

[bear]

I don't mind stupid questions. Asking questions is one of the smartest things we can do.

I get annoyed when asked questions by people who have not thought the question through or who could figure out the answer with a bit of thought.

Hang on a minute Bear, surely you have defined "stupid questions" here, but say you don't mind them, and then say they annoy you.

Maybe you mean "degrees" of stupidity?

Since I am an expert is asking stupid questions, I tend to be more tolerant of others who ask them of me.

It's only where malice or rudeness is received that i am reluctant to give an answer, but I rarely see that.

Graham,
I may have not made my point clearly.
On the street, a woman I did not know asked me if I was Scottish. I find this somewhat rude.
It is akin to asking an Indian man in a turban if he is Sikh. Of course he's Sikh!
Raphael gets asked if he is Scottish. Raphael is Chinese.
There are two kinds of stupid questions. The first kind is from a lack of knowledge. A computer novice might ask, "what is a computer mouse?" Stupid question, but understandable from a novice.
The second kind of stupid question is one that could be assumed or deduced from observation but the asker of the question is too lazy to think.

I don't mind the first kind of stupid question. That's a good way to learn. I always answer this kind of question because I like to help and teach others.
The second kind of stupid question is just intellectual laziness and usually bothers or embarrasses others. It's rudeness and while I normally explain about kilts, sometimes the demanding way the question is asked gets my fur up and I respond in kind.

[Mychael Sporrano]

I have been cogitating on this topic between tasks today. Sometimes I think that people are simply looking for a way to break the ice; consequently, asking if you are Scottish or telling you they like your skirt is the first thing that pops into their mind and so that is what they blurt out.

Bear is right though when he says that folks don't generally make similar inquiries of men wearing turbans. Perhaps wearing a kilt appears more of a festive things making those who are wearing them seem more approachable, leading to the goofy questions. I strongly suspect that to many the fellow in the turban comes off merely as a fellow wearing a turban, while the fellow in the kilt comes off as the fellow wearing a costume.

Mychael

[Mychael Sporrano]

I have been cogitating on this topic between tasks today. Sometimes I think that people are simply looking for a way to break the ice; consequently, asking if you are Scottish or telling you they like your skirt is the first thing that pops into their mind and so that is what they blurt out.

Bear is right though when he says that folks don't generally make similar inquiries of men wearing turbans. Perhaps wearing a kilt appears more of a festive things making those who are wearing them seem more approachable, leading to the goofy questions. I strongly suspect that to many the fellow in the turban comes off merely as a fellow wearing a turban, while the fellow in the kilt comes off as the fellow wearing a costume.

Mychael

[Mychael Sporrano]

I have been cogitating on this topic between tasks today. Sometimes I think that people are simply looking for a way to break the ice; consequently, asking if you are Scottish or telling you they like your skirt is the first thing that pops into their mind and so that is what they blurt out.

Bear is right though when he says that folks don't generally make similar inquiries of men wearing turbans. Perhaps wearing a kilt appears more of a festive things making those who are wearing them seem more approachable, leading to the goofy questions. I strongly suspect that to many the fellow in the turban comes off merely as a fellow wearing a turban, while the fellow in the kilt comes off as the fellow wearing a costume.

Mychael