2010-05-31, 01:53 PM
I have already came across this type of a situation over a year ago, but it has occurred much more frequently to me lately. You are asked a question and can give two possible answers. However, one of them is the correct answer, while the other one is incorrect, inaccurate or irrelevant to the specific question but you assume that it will be more helpful for the person you are talking with.
Let me give you a very simple and abstract example of such a situation for you to get the grasp of what I am talking about:
You are walking in the street when suddenly a stranger approaches you and asks you where is the nearest bus stop. You, being familiar with the neighborhood, know how to explain him how to get there, but you also know that it is 5km away and that there is a train station much closer. Would you explain the person how to reach the bus station he asked for, or will you try and help him by offering the closer solution (the train)?
I usually come across such situations daily (in more sophisticated ways than the one described here), and unless the person is someone I know and I want to help (for example, a good friend), I am very strict about giving the correct answer, even if I think I understand what the person wants to do and I know a simpler way of doing this.
The reason I act like that is because I always think about what answer would I like to hear if I was the one asking the question. Getting back to the bus\train example above, I would have never asked where is the bus station unless I already checked the other options and reached the conclusion that the bus is what I need. If I haven't checked them yet, I would explicitly ask for the best or most convenient way of getting where I want, and only after I have made up my mind about what type of transportation I would like to use, I would ask where can I find it.
What is southperry's opinion regarding the matter?
Let me give you a very simple and abstract example of such a situation for you to get the grasp of what I am talking about:
You are walking in the street when suddenly a stranger approaches you and asks you where is the nearest bus stop. You, being familiar with the neighborhood, know how to explain him how to get there, but you also know that it is 5km away and that there is a train station much closer. Would you explain the person how to reach the bus station he asked for, or will you try and help him by offering the closer solution (the train)?
I usually come across such situations daily (in more sophisticated ways than the one described here), and unless the person is someone I know and I want to help (for example, a good friend), I am very strict about giving the correct answer, even if I think I understand what the person wants to do and I know a simpler way of doing this.
The reason I act like that is because I always think about what answer would I like to hear if I was the one asking the question. Getting back to the bus\train example above, I would have never asked where is the bus station unless I already checked the other options and reached the conclusion that the bus is what I need. If I haven't checked them yet, I would explicitly ask for the best or most convenient way of getting where I want, and only after I have made up my mind about what type of transportation I would like to use, I would ask where can I find it.
What is southperry's opinion regarding the matter?