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Old 04-20-2006, 03:34 PM   #6
da2el.ni4na
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 32
United_States
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Re: like beauty, the stupidity of a question

I was about to do a for school-style write-up on the article, but I had this thought first. It has to do with motivation (which I'm sure will lead to the word "commitment" at some point).
Let's say you have someone who feels offended by another person. If you asked them something to get them to think deeply on the experience, some might answer, "What do you mean, think about it. They sounded like so, so I was offended of course." Continuing to try persuasion rationally or truthfully can easily ignore the individual's human/ego/insecurity responses, and ultimately not get anyone anywhere.
With the same hypothetical person, you can leave them alone, on the other hand. If they feel some curiosity or motivation to face the "deeper" issues, meet them then perhaps. However, I think all too often we try to feel fine about things, and left to ourselves, people do not face issues any more deeply than is demanded in their daily life. We can "get by" in our lives.
For some people, getting by is enough. For others it is less than desirable. When the two interact or meet, the "getting by" people may feel that the "deeper" people are invalidating their experience, even when the exact opposite may be intended.
How can communication between these two people, or these two extremes, overcome perhaps fundamental differences in perspective and be constructive? How would you effectively communicate to someone that their question was "stupid" and how would you then point them toward "better" questions? Even trickier, how would you help guide them *appropriately or suitably for them*, without completely giving up on their becoming deeper, smarter, etc.?
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