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David Wees

Mathematics Teacher, Stratford Hall

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Why are so many of the answers to questions here "pseudo-answers"?

I've noticed that in practically every conversation that is started here, they are people who respond who really know nothing about what is being discussed, but feel the need to add to the conversation. I see many short responses or attempts at intelligent dialog but which fall short of being actually productive or useful to genuine discussion.

My question is, why does this happen? Is it inherent to human nature to feel the need to answer questions, even when one cannot?

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    Matias Gurmandi 30+

    • +2
    TED TranslatorAssociate
    Mar 27 2011: David, I think it depends on what you mean by pseudo-answer. It is true that you might find some answers of no value whatsoever, of people who don't put any kind of thought in what they type and answer with one-line frases or even just two or three words.
    But this is not what I see most in TED. Actually, what I find so exciting about TED is that it makes everyone think, investigate, put some thought into their answers. It's probably the only place in the web where us laymen have the unique opportunity to discuss profound topics with remarkable people from all fields of knowledge. Some people are just trying hard to add something of value into a conversation, of course not always succeeding.

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