Re: PMDD Formula ? Good stuff to grow with -- or Poor Minds Don't Doubt

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

Roger Miller said:

> . . . but useful scientific questions are rarely asked
> by The Confused.
> The useful questions are asked by people with a great
> depth of knowledge who
> can reduce a complex issue to a basic question.

Well, I agree, sort of, which is good because Roger doesn't
post much unless he knows what he has to say.  Wish he
could post more often.  Maybe we're not asking the right
questions  ;-) 

But anyway --

I think it depends on "whose use."  A question is useful
(to the asker) if the asker needs the answer (it doesn't
depend on how smart they are) and it has some probability,
in the situation where it's asked, of producing an answer. 
So useful questions can be asked by just about anybody,
can't they?

> 
> Sometimes confused questions are a great way to tell when
> something needs to
> be reworded.  More often then not they are just confused
> questions.

I think I get your point, but I think it rushes over
another important one.

A *question* itself might be confused or it might be a
simple straightforward question, like the one that started
this thread, asked to resolve a confusion.  I think the
good scientific questions are like that too.

Thre ability to ask fundamental questions that lead to
productive theorizing or experimention depends as much on
analyticial ability as depth of knowledge (I'd wager more
the former than the latter but how would one measure?). 
Some (not all or most) folks with a tremendous amount of
knowledge lack analytical abilities  -- they couldn't come
up with a useful (even to them) hypothesis (in the normal
sense) if their life depended on it.  But still, they could
ask questions that would be useful to them and to others in
similar states of mind.  Productive science comes from
those that are knowledgable and good thinkers -- which  is
what I think Roger meant.  I would say that such folks are
good at finding things that they are confused about that
lead to productive theoretical or experimental work or
thought.

A one of the great things about APD, it takes all comers,
from the brilliant to the schlubs -- probably because
that's the make-up of APD.

And while I'm so far off topic, Roger, the small tank you
posted on AB is beautiful.

Scott H.

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