Just Ask

Have you noticed the parallels between fixed and growth mindsets, and the attitudes one can have toward reading?

Fixed mindset: reading is simply for amusement or to confirm what I already know. I avoid anything challenging or which pushes me out of my comfort zone. I already basically know everything I need to anyway.

Growth mindset: reading is a powerful way for me to engage with my world and all the ideas and perspectives within it, and I am constantly doing it so I can learn more. I don’t mind being wrong or not understanding something on the first try—that’s what learning’s for!

As we’ve already mentioned, learning that comes from a place of fear or control is seldom true learning, whereas the attitude of open-mindedness and curiosity is the heart of deep insight into the world and its mysteries. And what is the best tool for the curious mind? That’s easy: a question.

Children are notorious for asking tons of questions. The average child asks anywhere between one to three hundred questions every single day. However, as they (and we) grow up, the number reduces to only about six questions per day. Somewhere along the way, we lost the natural curiosity for life that we had as kids.

As many parents know, children often ask questions that are deceptively simple, yet extraordinarily hard to explain in simple terms. This is because they force us to reconsider many of the things we have learned to take for granted over our years of existence. If we retained or managed to rebuild the same curiosity we had as children, the rate at which we would learn would accelerate enormously.

The famous quote from esteemed theoretical physicist Heisenberg goes, “What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.” The right question will give us the information we want. The wrong question will keep us circling around at the level of the problem, never rising above or outside it.

A question allows us to draw out the information we want from our surroundings, to interrogate it, to understand it more deeply, to learn. This is the intelligent receptiveness that is alert to the new all around us.

In fact, intelligence on its own is not all that important—raw processing power alone is not very useful. Rather, it is our wise ability to know what we know and don’t know, to understand how to find out information, to not merely be geniuses from the start but to determine how to grow and learn from where we are—these are the attributes that make the difference.

It is not the skills we’re born with or the resources at our disposal, but the efficiency with which can use what we have. Indeed, this is the growth mindset again: it is not where we are or what is fixed in us, but our ability to move and develop beyond that. After all, another way to look at growth is to call it… learning.

As you read, pause to respond to and engage with what you encounter using questions. Ask open rather than closed questions—for example, ask “What are all the current communist states in the world and what’s their history?” rather than “Is Vietnam a communist state?” or “Exactly how is this thing operating?” rather than “Does it work?”

Open questions expose you to a wealth of new information that you may not have been aware of. However, in some cases, closed questions can be useful in getting answers to particular queries. Being able to ask highly specific, detail-oriented questions is also a skill in itself, one that might lead you to right answers more efficiently depending on how you use them.

As you read, stop occasionally and question yourself to check your comprehension. When we learn in school, our teacher plays this role for us, using questions to guide our understanding and to reveal any gaps in our knowledge. As autodidacts (people who teach themselves), you can employ a lot of the techniques used in education on yourself.

Ask, in effect, “What did I just read?”

It may be helpful to imagine yourself re-explaining the concept to someone else—a good test to reveal if you truly grasp the principle. Being the teacher for a moment highlights all the steps, stages, and assumptions you need to make to arrive at your conclusion.

Ask what you don’t know. Ask where the author/teacher/expert gets their information from and why they’re doing what they’re doing. Ask what assumptions both you and the author hold. You get the picture: ask a lot of questions, and when you get an answer, question that even further!

Rather than judging the veracity of the text in front of you, or jumping in to decide whether you agree or not, try first just to describe and understand what you are reading. Hold off on evaluating, and simply become curious about what is presented and how.

Read again, slowly. If you’re having a lesson with someone, you can do the same. Ask questions to hone in on the errors or assumptions you may have. Remain in the growth mindset by looking at the task rather than how well you’re doing it, and let go of any assessments you may have about your performance.

If you fail, look at the failure square on and ask it questions, too: What can you teach me? Why did it go the way it did? What if I tried it another way?

When learning anything (a sport, the piano, a new game, lines for a play, a lab technique, difficult programming language or whatever), you want to go beyond the realm of facts. Ask questions, but questions that probe for insight. Remember, you are not keeping score, competing or appraising yourself. You’re learning. A question is simply a tool that helps learning—and it needs to be a sharp, effective tool.

A good question is one that illuminates misunderstanding or ignorance. It guides us out of confusion, or at least shines a light on the reason for our confusion. A good question breaks things down so we can see more clearly. By slowing down and “thinking aloud,” we make it easier to catch our assumptions or errors. We open up a space for more insight to flow in—or at least more creative questions.

Questions for Thought

Let’s consider a few kinds of good questions, and how to ask them. The first is Elicitation. These questions check for the presence of knowledge and ask who, what, when, and where.

For example:

UK’s prime minister in the: 1930

What’s the full chemical name of this particular molecule?

Where can I find the fuse box on this model?

When does the sun set?

Divergent questions are another kind, and expand and open up your thinking process. These questions will help you compare and contrast two situations, sort out a seeming discrepancy or inconsistency, or highlight differences and distinguishing features. The essential characteristic of this type of question is that it never has a specific “right” answer, unlike when it comes to convergent questions. These are more likely to be why and how questions, as these are more open-ended and open to analysis and flexibility.

For example:

Why does this dog training method work for breed A, but not really for breed B?

What is the fundamental difference between these two authors’ positions on this topic?”

How does the television work? Is it magic?

Elaboration questions open up the field of information even further and expand on what’s known, to gain more complexity and richness. Simply asking, “what else?” will lead you to elaborate and deepen not just your comprehension but likely your recall, too. “Can you tell me more about this?” is the perfect open-ended elaboration question. Think about this as zooming in on a topic.

More examples:

Are there any other techniques associated with this printing technique?

Exactly how does this part of the engine actually work?

Clarification questions highlight crucial details and add definition. These are great to ask when we have just discovered a gap or error in our thinking. Clarification questions can often clear up misunderstandings or reveal assumptions.

For example:

Why exactly do we calibrate the machine that way and not the way I just did it?

Why am I assuming XYZ, and is it true?

Heuristic questions are those that query your method of problem solving directly, and not the content of your thinking per se. These can be incredibly helpful if you’re stumped on a problem. These questions all directly help you improve your method of questioning.

For example:

How would I know I’ve gathered enough information on this topic?

Am I missing anything in my process?

What would I do if I was an expert in this area?

Finally, inventive questions are those that spur creative, out-of-the-box thinking by asking your brain to run wild with concepts and connections. These can be powerful methods to abandon stale old assumptions and open the way to a fresh new solution or way of looking at things.

For example:

If I was a caterpillar, why would I decide to build my cocoon here and not somewhere else?

What would I say to a younger version of myself when it came to this issue?

If our synchronized swimming team had a personality, what would it be and why?