Who doesnt love a good riddle?
Sometimes a brainteaser is just what you gotta get those neurons firing.
There have to be some, surely.
Because, when you start to think about riddles, you realize that they areoften simplein their complexity.
However, their very nature is to deceive, thus warranting the extra thought.
What Is the Point of a Question?
In short, asking a question is information gathering.
It is how we learn.
Its how we sate our curious nature.
We teach our children to be inquisitive and always to ask, ask, ask.
It merely depends on the way the question is asked.
That brings us back to riddles again.
Really, a riddle is just a question asked in a confusing or misleading way.
It may behumorous, ironic, or mean spiritedbut it always requires careful consideration before answering.
We also need to stop thinking of questions as being a single-answer scenario.
They are far more complex than that.
At least, it should be.
Of course, someone could answer the question wrong, but thats a different tangent altogether.
Then you have the questions that have variable answers.
Personal questions, the answer to which the poser of the question does not know.
Why Would You Answer Yes?
If you think about it, there isno shortage of questionsto which you cannot answer yes.
Yes is such a definitive answer.
It leaves no room for doubt.
In fact, there are probably more questions on this list than any other.
Not only is yes a very definitive answer, but it is also answers an incredibly specific question.
It almost begs the question of why you even ask at all.
To me, questions are conversation starters as much as they are information gatherers.
In turn, I find that yes is more of a conversation destroyer.
In the linguistic world, a yes or no question is called a Polar Question.
They are closed-ended questions designed to get a single answer and move on.
There are many who say that many of these are not really questions at all.
Of course, this goes down two pathways.
In turn, that nullifies the point of asking the question in the first place.
I mean, it doesnt make a great riddle, but at least it is factually correct.
Closed-ended questions are also less effective when in a group.
By this, I mean the answers gained from asking are less reliable.
If you ask one person if they enjoyed something, they will answer yes or no.
We will assume they answer honestly.
People will look to move with the voice of the crowd to avoid causing a fuss.
To put it simply,what do you always say no to?
Again this is largely subjective and depends heavily on the style of question being asked.
First, however, it is crucial to understand the power of answering no.
No is one of the most powerful words in the English language.
Sadly, however, many people do not realize it and underutilize no as an answer in most situations.
The word no has a stigma to it that many of us fail to understand.
We are fearful of the word.
We worry it makes us sound rude, awkward, and difficult.
However, in reality, no is an empowering word.
It gives us the chance to take charge and make a statement.
It is a protective word, but one that does not always have to be necessarily negative.
While it may be negative to the person asking, for you, it is a positive answer.
Standing up and answering no to a question is a very empowering thing that lends itself to other benefits.
First and foremost, it is a response that gives back to us.
It gives us control and confidence while gaining us respect and saving us all time.
Lets deconstruct some of those, with examples of what you might never answer yes to.
Semantic
Often, the intent of a question is a matter of intonation.
When written down, the sentence is read in a single way.
However, if we were to stress a single word a little differently, everything changes.
They all follow the same theme.
However, lets change the intonation a little.
Being aware of these trick questions can help you help you stir up some good-natured troubleor avoid it altogether.
After all, in many countries you have the right not to incriminate yourself.
Which is fitting because the answer is subjective, as too are questions at the core.
No answer is a given at any one point in time.
Thats why we ask questions in the first place.
We dont know that answer and so check.
Really, every question is a riddle in its own way.
Its all about how you phrase it.
They become almost a statement of fact to which a second person provides the ending.
