The Dumb Question

Questions can be brought up about any topic, and some may make you look like a fool. But the statement “there is no such thing as a stupid question” is very true and even though it may seem stupid it can turn out to make sure stuff gets done right. Without asking the proper questions and making sure you fully understand a topic there is room for error, even if your question seems dumb it can still be personally beneficial. This can be true in any life situation, jobs, relationships, and just about anything in life, knowledge is the biggest factor and asking questions furthers knowledge. In my case, we were working at a construction site, and I asked plenty of questions, whether or not they seemed like dumb questions, if I wasn’t 100% sure about something I asked so me or anyone else didn’t get hurt. I also learned a lot about the building products we used and how to mathematically plan it out.

Here’s a quick story about a question I asked that made me feel very dumb for asking it but at the same time it helped me make sure I did the right thing. Over the course of several months me and my grandfather would go up to one of his properties to work on his building that we were putting up. There was a lot going on and for me, having little to no knowledge of putting up a building that amounted to roughly 73,000 square feet. From building the walls, setting them in place, putting bracing up, setting trusses and doing siding there was a lot going on and at some points it was quite overwhelming. There was a lot of things that I did while building that warehouse that I have never done before and I asked a lot of questions throughout the whole process.Other times there was stuff that I had some knowledge about and I wouldn’t ask about how to do it. But often times it came back and screwed me cause I’d do it wrong and my grandfather would get pissed off at me. Probably the dumbest question I asked throughout the whole process was “how did you plan this out so perfect”. My grandfather is a very intelligent man, but this building amazed me, he planned the whole thing out so he had the smallest amount of scrap wood, he made it such an odd length so the siding would line up perfect and I just blew my mind. Now my grandfather isn’t the type of guy that will just answer a question, and that’s what made me feel dumb for asking. He will ask me 50 different questions to make me think and come up with the answer on my own, which isn’t a bad thing but it makes you feel stupid. Soon after asking him this question I felt like I was playing 20 questions, he asked me a ton of questions pertaining to the sizes and blueprint of the building. He made me answer questions that are complex just by making me think about it and asking me tons of questions. By the time he was done I had an understanding of the math going on in his head. So although it may have made me feel dumb, knowing how my grandfather did the math made me feel a lot smarter.

In certain situations we come by we have no clue what to do or what’s going on so we ask questions, and sometimes these questions make you feel like a fool. But it is ok to look like a fool because in the end you asked the question, you got informed and your question got answered. By asking questions you gain knowledge, and you will have to ask questions throughout your whole life. Questions are inevitable throughout your life, but that is how we learn more as individuals. Knowledge is the key to success in life, and without proper knowledge you wouldn’t be able to keep a good job or many other things. While helping my grandfather put up his warehouse I learned a lot of valuable life lessons, from load bearing to proper support and many more things. Although it may have made me feel dumb for asking this question I’m glad I did because I learned some valuable lessons that can be very beneficial throughout my life.