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MixedNuts comments on How to signal curiosity? - Less Wrong Discussion

21 Post author: Wei_Dai 11 January 2013 10:47PM

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Comment author: MixedNuts 13 January 2013 04:08:58PM 6 points [-]

Asking questions for reasons other than wanting to know the answer has many functions.

  • Buttering up a superior: "Your paper was fascinating, can you tell me more about boringology?"
  • Requesting agreement: "Is this what we want for our children?"
  • Softening a challenge: "Might there be a mistake in equation 4?"
  • Softening a request: "Can I get a pint of lager, please?"
  • Challenge: "Are you stupid, or what?"
  • Bonding: "So, what do you do?"
  • Formality: "How is it going?"
  • Ceding the floor: "So we should be done by June, don't you think so, Alice?"

If you don't think that's valuable, that casts doubt on your ability to judge social awareness in others.