Why do you ask these questions!?

[Words]

Actually, I think the more accurate complaint is "Why do you ask *these types* of questions?"

What am I talking about? I'm talking about the purpose of curiosity. "Why ask...?" To achieve a purpose....? No. That is the wrong question. You get an F. The question is "Why ask certain types of questions?" Hence, the answer is "To achieve a certain purpose." Hence, I'm probably talking about curiosity for curiosity. (stimulate!!!)

I know myself for asking a lot of questions. (which is rather odd, now that I think about it... I've always been ignoring and repressing "sparks" of irritations(hints want for understanding). This is perhaps due to norms wherein I stopped myself because of the assumption that these irritations, which often concretizes itself into questions, were just useless feelings. Nobody ever seemed to entertaining them, and we all know that the multitude is the source of "collective wisdom".... I hope I'm wiser now. Give me a medal please.) Now, I find myself asking why I (or "You" if you find "I" boring) ask these certain questions.

Why do certain questions lead us to certain understandings? And where do these questions come from? Do you often know why your curious?

Often questions don't seem to achieve any practical goal nor understanding, but there is a certain "feeling" that pushes you to focus on that "itch". Why? How?

What is this....intuition?

 

[Jesse]

I have always asked questions. Being old enough, I now know that not all these will lead to happiness.

The most dangerous question I have discovered is always asking why. It can lead to thousands of permutations that all end in the point of existence, but other questions, questions grounded in reality, are far more beneficial and more satisfying. For instance finding where you came from or how stuff works are great questions.

Why any of us have a natural curiosity is probably best answered in phych or evolution or even ethics.

 

[Words]

I have always asked questions. Being old enough, I now know that not all these will lead to happiness.

The most dangerous question I have discovered is always asking why. It can lead to thousands of permutations that all end in the point of existence, but other questions, questions grounded in reality, are far more beneficial and more satisfying. For instance finding where you came from or how stuff works are great questions.

Why any of us have a natural curiosity is probably best answered in phych or evolution or even ethics.

Are you aware of the mini-purposes of each of your questions? (If the greater purpose was understanding.) Or do you often follow a line of reasoning yet cannot explain why?

 

[EyeSeeCold]

I think the more appropriate question to ask is "why do you want to know the answer?".

 

[Cognisant]

We ask questions because our brains can recognise the absence of things, for instance if you put your keys on a table and return later and discover them missing, you'll have recognised that they were there, but now they are not.

So you ask, rhetorically, where are my keys?

Many of our questions in life, particularly of the philosophical kind, are a result of an absence in understanding, an absence we seek to rectify by "finding" the answer.

 

[Words]

I think the more appropriate question to ask is "why do you want to know the answer?".

More direct, yes. Why the need for this? What does it mean "to understand"?

We ask questions because our brains can recognise the absence of things, for instance if you put your keys on a table and return later and discover them missing, you'll have recognised that they were there, but now they are not.

So you ask, rhetorically, where are my keys?

Many of our questions in life, particularly of the philosophical kind, are a result of an absence in understanding, an absence we seek to rectify by "finding" the answer.

This answer, in turn, fills in this particular "absence" this thread sought. Recognition, eh?

Questions are the result of absences...? How can you recognize absences? How can you identify "the lack of order"? Where does the brain find the idea of "missing"? (Which is the better question?)

 

[Jesse]

It differs on each question but I usually have a good idea of the smaller details and even some of the larger reasons of why I ask. For instance I will ask why a certain thing is the way it is, and looking deeper I often know why, it's usually to compare it to existing notions or to confirm or disprove my own theory or someone else. I like to think I have a grand theory that incorporates everything but I need to know more always. so I know how my theory works.

I'm quite specific when I want to know something. Unless of course I'm looking on a wiki then it devolves quite rapidly until I'm learning about doomsday devices or the evolution of the eye (both true stories).

 

[EyeSeeCold]

More direct, yes. Why the need for this? What does it mean "to understand"?

For example:
Why?

Why do you want to know/understand why?

Because I feel lost/just want to.

How would knowing/understanding "Why?" make you feel any better than you do now? The fact of the matter is that it is.

If I knew "Why?" then I could accept the "What".

What difference does it make?

I'd know "Why?".


Obvious or not, "Why" has more of an emotional origin than that of logical rationality. Humans want to be emotionally fulfilled and this is why they ask these questions.

 

[childish_intellect]

Actually, I think the more accurate complaint is "Why do you ask *these types* of questions?"

What am I talking about? I'm talking about the purpose of curiosity. "Why ask...?" To achieve a purpose....? No. That is the wrong question. You get an F. The question is "Why ask certain types of questions?" Hence, the answer is "To achieve a certain purpose." Hence, I'm probably talking about curiosity for curiosity. (stimulate!!!)

I know myself for asking a lot of questions. (which is rather odd, now that I think about it... I've always been ignoring and repressing "sparks" of irritations(hints want for understanding). This is perhaps due to norms wherein I stopped myself because of the assumption that these irritations, which often concretizes itself into questions, were just useless feelings. Nobody ever seemed to entertaining them, and we all know that the multitude is the source of "collective wisdom".... I hope I'm wiser now. Give me a medal please.) Now, I find myself asking why I (or "You" if you find "I" boring) ask these certain questions.

Why do certain questions lead us to certain understandings? And where do these questions come from? Do you often know why your curious?

Often questions don't seem to achieve any practical goal nor understanding, but there is a certain "feeling" that pushes you to focus on that "itch". Why? How?

What is this....intuition?

My parents would praise you.

I'm always asking questions. The answers could have nothing to do with my current doings but I ask them anyways. I ask because I want to know. It is not a need. I can tell you that much. The only time it becomes a need is when the solution is needed to satisfy another solution or help a problem become a solution. My questions tend to come out of the blue. At any given moment I may be thinking of five or seven unrelated things. Those things tend to break into smaller groups and even smaller groups after that. Questions can be found almost anywhere within the thoughts and their subgroups. Now imagine the poor soul having to deal with the constant bombardment of questions to which they may have no idea as to what the solution may be. I make people forget what they were doing because of this. I make people lose their cool pretty quick. Nowadays, I use the internet for all my troublesome pursuits. Even so I crash the browser every now and then.

I think I have strayed off a bit. The why of curiosity is to satisfy that feeling of knowing (at least for me). To know things feels good.

Knowledge is power.

 

[Cognisant]

This answer, in turn, fills in this particular "absence" this thread sought. Recognition, eh?

Questions are the result of absences...? How can you recognize absences? How can you identify "the lack of order"? Where does the brain find the idea of "missing"? (Which is the better question?)

Well I said nothing of order, discard that one.

Where does the brain find the idea of "missing"?
Look at a pen, you know it is a pen, you recognise it's "pen-ness", even if it's a type of pen you've never seen before, an incredible ability no? You can do this because you brain dosen't recognise things by what they are, it recognises them by what they're not, so when you encounter a new type of pen you subconsciously conclude that it must be a pen, because it cannot be anything else.

It's like the game "20 questions", to win the game, to figure out what the subject is, you need to eliminate every other possibility, by asking questions about what it is, form which you can infer what it is not.

The exact mechanics of recognition are complicated, but it is a mechanical process, well biomechanical (for now), anyway…

 

[Words]

It differs on each question but I usually have a good idea of the smaller details and even some of the larger reasons of why I ask. For instance I will ask why a certain thing is the way it is, and looking deeper I often know why, it's usually to compare it to existing notions or to confirm or disprove my own theory or someone else. I like to think I have a grand theory that incorporates everything but I need to know more always. so I know how my theory works.

I'm quite specific when I want to know something. Unless of course I'm looking on a wiki then it devolves quite rapidly until I'm learning about doomsday devices or the evolution of the eye (both true stories).

Yeah~...but where does it come from? How do you know which questions lead you to greater understanding?

For example:
Why?

Why do you want to know/understand why?

Because I feel lost/just want to.

How would knowing/understanding "Why?" make you feel any better than you do now? The fact of the matter is that it is.

If I knew "Why?" then I could accept the "What".

What difference does it make?

I'd know "Why?".


Obvious or not, "Why" has more of an emotional origin than that of logical rationality. Humans want to be emotionally fulfilled and this is why they ask these questions.

Interesting perspective. How is cerebral fulfillment related to emotional fulfillment? How do you explain emotions in general?

My parents would praise you.

Lucky letter "u".

Well I said nothing of order, discard that one.

You don't think it is related at all?

Where does the brain find the idea of "missing"?
Look at a pen, you know it is a pen, you recognise it's "pen-ness", even if it's a type of pen you've never seen before, an incredible ability no? You can do this because you brain dosen't recognise things by what they are, it recognises them by what they're not, so when you encounter a new type of pen you subconsciously conclude that it must be a pen, because it cannot be anything else.

It's like the game "20 questions", to win the game, to figure out what the subject is, you need to eliminate every other possibility, by asking questions about what it is, form which you can infer what it is not.

The exact mechanics of recognition are complicated, but it is a mechanical process, well biomechanical (for now), anyway…

Interesting idea...and maybe even helpful. How did you arrive to this conclusion however?

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Interesting perspective. How is cerebral fulfillment related to emotional fulfillment?

I'm not sure, to answer directly I'd feel like I was rationalizing.

A possible "How"- Humans have a natural drive to believe, to rid themselves of doubt. The void, or absence, as Cognisant has pointed out, needs to be filled. "Why" is the primordial source of doubt; how and why do we exist? Knowing and believing cures doubt.

How do you explain emotions in general?

Phenomenal reactions? I'm not sure emotions can or even really should be explained. Of course they may be linked to chemicals and neurons, but who's to say that is all there is to something that cannot be readily understood?

 

[final-dimension]

To feel more comfortable with a certain concept or to know the roots of something.Knowing why a person reacts in a certain way or why he has done a certain action make us feel secure cause we are afraid of the unknown I think...
Sorry if this was a stupid answer.

 

[myexplodingcat]

Cos we wanna. Nah, really.

We want to understand the answers, silly!
~~~~
It's illegal to attempt to commit suicide, but hard to press charges if you succeed.