The Feb. Precept this month is: “It is better to know some of the questions than to know all of the answers” which is a quote by James Thurber. My Theory on this Precept is that it is better know some of the questions because you can branch out ideas from a question, while if you know the answer, it won’t do you any good because that’s it, once you know the answer, you’re done, there isn’t a good reason to continue what you are working on, other than trying to find other answers or ways to solve it. While, a question will open your mind up to different possibilities because if you get a question, the first thing you do is try to solve it, but if you stay and keep thinking about the question, your mind will almost always find out other ways you can solve it or understand it. A question is really powerful in many ways, while an answer is rock bottom, which is no fun at all. I’m not saying knowing the answer is horrible or bad, or that you shouldn’t always cut to the chase, or it is bad to think for the answers, I’m saying that if there is a question, try to maximize your understanding of it, to make your answer 100% accurate or correct. In my opinion, I fully agree with Mr. Thurber on his quote.
A connection I have to this quote is when I would get a bunch of questions on homework or a test or something, and I would always just think about the answer and have a difficult time doing so, so instead of that technique, I started breaking down the question or try to understand it more. Say the question was “You have 10 apples, I take away 3, how many do you have?” if I didn’t understand it, which I do, I would sit and think, than to try to find an answer, usually, if it’s a complicated question with big words, instead of just ignoring them and finding the answer with the words I know, I would figure out those words, then, I would start thinking about how I would answer it, or break it down. It’s always better to know the questions than to know the answers, because a question can bring up so many different ways, possibilities, or techniques.