ask questions.
Isidor I. Rabi, the Jewish Nobel Prize Winner in physics was once asked by Dr.
Arthur Sackler, a colleague of his: ''Why did you become a scientist, rather than a
doctor or lawyer or businessman, like the other immigrant kids in your
neighborhood?''
Dr. Rabi's answer was profound: ''My mother made me a scientist without ever
intending it. Every other Jewish mother in Brooklyn would ask her child after school:
'So? Did you learn anything today?'
But not my mother. She always asked me a different question. 'Izzy,' she would say, 'did you ask a
good question today?' That difference - asking good questions -made me become a scientist!''
What makes us human and different from animals is that ability to inquire, to ask questions. With
enough effort, you can teach an ape or a parrot to memorize basic human communication, you can train
a dog to follow certain simple orders, or a dolphin to search for lost divers or underwater mines. But
these animals cannot ask questions. They are captives of their minute brains and of nature. Humans
wonder and that is what makes us different.
Your ability to formulate a good question shows you are thinking much more than giving an answer, in
many cases. There was a horse named Hans that learned how to count with his hooves and could
answer simple arithmetic questions, but he never asked “what is 2 + 2?”
DIRECTIONS: Below are some exercises in good question asking. Solve them and
practice this basic skill of science and life. This is a 10 daily point assignment.
1.
You stand at a fork in the road. Next to each of the two forks, there stands a guard.
You know the following things: 1. One path leads to Paradise, the other to Death.
From where you stand, you cannot distinguish between the two paths. Worse, once
you start down a path, you cannot turn back. 2. One of the two guards always tells the
truth. The other guard always lies. Unfortunately, it is impossible for you to
distinguish between the two guards. You have permission to ask one guard one
question to ascertain which path leads to Paradise. Remember that you do not know which guard
you're asking -- the truth-teller or the liar -- and that this single question determines whether you
live or die. The question is: What one question asked of one guard guarantees that you are led onto
the path to Paradise, regardless of which guard you happen to ask?
_________________________________________________________________________
Pretend you are playing the game 20 questions. The idea is to narrow down the object chosen by going
from questions that are very general to very specific. Fill in the missing blanks below with questions
that fit logically in the sequence shown and have the answer given. Your answer should not be a guess
as to what the product is.
2. Is it expensive? Yes
Is it used in the bathroom? Yes
Is it __used in the shower__? No
Does it have moving parts? Yes
Is it an electric shaver? Yes
3. Is it man-made? Yes
Is it related to technology? Yes
Is it used for communicating? No
Is it used for entertainment? Yes
Is it a portable DVD player? Yes
4. I have something in a regularly sized shoebox. Write 15 logically sequential
questions that can be answered with a yes or no that would lead you to discover
what is in the shoebox. Include the answer given to each question. DO NOT
LEAVE HUGE GAPS IN YOUR QUESTIONS and DON'T QUICKLY JUMP TO
CONCLUSIONS EITHER! Go from general to specific. No more and no less than 15 questions.
Your last question will be your guess as to what is in the box.
Q1: _______Is it a living thing?___ Ans.___No____
Q2: _______Is it man-made?___ Ans.__Yes_____
Q3: _______Is it an everyday use item for most people?__ Ans.__No_____
Q4: _______Does it have moveable parts?___ Ans.__No_____
Q5: _______Does it cost more than $10?___ Ans.___No____
Q6: _______Is it used in an office?____ Ans.__No_____
Q7: _______Is it used primarily for fun?__ Ans.__Yes_____
Q8: _______Is it used for outdoor fun?______ Ans.__Yes_____
Q9: _______Is it used in sports?___ Ans.__Yes_____
Q10: _______Is it used in team sports?______ Ans.___No____
Q11: _______Is it round?____________ Ans.__Yes_____
Q12: _______Is it bouncy?__________ Ans.__Yes__
Q13: _______Is it rough-textured on the outside?_____ Ans.__Yes_____
Q14: _______Is it hit by a racket?______________ Ans.__Yes_____
Q15: _______Is it a tennis ball?____ Ans.___Yes____
5. Below are some imponderables (also called perennial questions). These are clever questions that
don’t really have answers (or good answers) but show that you have shrewdly observed a bizarre thing
about life and are curious about it. After reading them over, add five more imponderables to the list.
 Why do supermarkets make the sick walk all the way to
the back of the store to get their prescriptions while
healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front?
 Why do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries,
and a DIETcoke?
 Why do banks leave vault doors open and then chain the
pens to the counters?
 Why do we leave cars worth thousands of pounds in our
driveways and put our useless junk in the garage?
 Why do hamburgers come in packages of ten and
hamburger buns in packages of eight?
 Why does the sun lighten our hair, but darken our skin?
 Why can't women put on mascara with their mouth
closed?
 Why don't you ever see the headline 'Psychic Wins
Lottery'?
 Why is 'abbreviated' such a long word?
 Why is it that doctors call what they do 'practice'?
 Why is the man who invests all your money called a
broker?
 Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?
 Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush
hour?
 Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?
 Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?
Your Questions:
1- Why do British singers never sound British
when they sing?
2- Why does Pluto, Mickey Mouse’s dog, not talk,
walk on all fours, and live in a dog house while
Goofy, Mickey Mouse’s friend, also a dog, talks,
walks on two legs, and lives in a regular house?
3- Can you cry under water?
4- Why do superheroes wear their underwear on
the outside of their clothes.
5- Why is it Ok for American football players to
slap each other on the rear end during a game
but not off-the-field.