quietlyradical

Sometimes, when I’m either bored or simply a victim of falling down the rabbit hole of the internet (usually quite late at night when I should be sleeping but simply can’t) I tend to pass the time reading, sometimes responding to, and occasionally posting questions on Quora.

For the uninitiated Quora (according to it’s “official” definition is: “…a place to gain and share knowledge. It’s a platform to ask questions and connect with people who contribute unique insights and quality answers.” This definition, while technically correct, is a bit like the airbrushing that occurs on women’s faces in fashion magazines. It highlights the ideal and conceals the flaws (and sometimes downright ugliness) that lurks just below the surface.

In this series of posts, I’d like to share some of the questions, answers, and comments that sometimes enlighten and uplift me and other times horrify and disgust me on this popular website, which is at times, a little like a train wreck. I know that I might see something gruesome and ugly, but somehow I just can’t look away.

I don’t know how long I’ve been on Quora. I believe that for a long time, I simple read and didn’t post questions, answers, or comments. But in checking the statistics that Quora so helpfully provides, I found that my first response was in October 2018. My mother had passed away from a whirlwind encounter with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (she was diagnosed on August 1, 2018 and dead by September 13) so I was probably still grieving and looking for some mind numbing, late-night entertainment one sleepless night, so I posted my first answer to a question in what I would categorize as the “How Could You Not Know That?” or the “Ever Heard of Google?” type of question. These are questions that are so ignorant that they can actually be harmful to a thinking person’s brain.

Ever Heard of Google? – Question 1

Question: What if Ford had pardoned Nixon in 1974?

Ok, so I am Generation X and was in middle school during the Watergate scandal, and I realize that Gen Y and Millennials would not have firsthand knowledge of Watergate. However, don’t students study Watergate in American history? Interestingly, I was the only person who sat fit to even answer this question. (I don’t know that is because the rest of the Quora community just thought that it was too stupid to answer or they actually had the same question!) However, since I always strive to be polite (even to morons) I answered:

I don’t understand this question. Ford did pardon Nixon in 1974. Is this question really intended to ask what would have happened if Ford hadn’t pardoned Nixon? Most people at the time seemed to believe that Ford’s pardon of Nixon cost him his chance at re-election. Ford seemed to argue that not pardoning Nixon would have prevented the country from healing from the division caused by Watergate. But in light of the current levels of divisiveness in the U.S. I’m not sure that Ford’s strategy was really that effective. There is still lots of partisan distrust as well as individuals who will still argue that Nixon was one of the greatest Presidents in our history.

This answer got 84 views and no comments so I’m not sure what that says about the state of education in the U.S.

Ever Heard of Google? – Question 2

Question: Why do people act so weird when drunk? How can a normally fairly relaxed person be totally chaotic and weird?

Again, I was the only one to answer this question by writing:

I’m not an expert on this by any means but my guess is that it is because alcohol affects the chemistry of the brain and alters the person’s behavior. My son was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 18 but before his diagnosis his behavior was so odd and so unlike his normal personality that I initially though he was abusing drugs or alcohol. It turned out that diseases like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and to some degree, major clinical depression are all the result of an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. So, it would seem reasonable that since substances like alcohol and certain types of drugs alter the chemistry of the brain, they would also cause changes in behavior.

70 views, no upvotes, no comments. Maybe other people just looked at my answer and thought, “Thanks, Captain Obvious!”

My profile shows that I teach English as a Second Language so I get a lot of vocabulary and grammar questions sent my way, but again, there are some where a simple Google search would provide the answer. For example:

Ever Heard of Google? – Question 3

Question: What 8-letter word that starts with “G” is a synonym for “A body of troops stationed in a fortified place”?

This qustion got 6 answers. Two other Quorans and I simply answered “garrison”.

Two others decided to be snarky and write:

I think the answer you are looking for is Garrison. However I don’t think that this site is intended to help you with crossword puzzles.

and

Garrison isn’t a synonym for “A body of troops stationed in a fortified place.” The definition of “garrison” is “A body of troops stationed in a fortified place.” A synonym for “garrison” would be “detachment.”

Finally, there was that one guy (sorry to be sexist, but it usually is a guy) who decided to go with the “that’s more information than I really needed, but ‘thanks anyway’ type of answer:

Garrison. Typical of Roman forts and the Cowboys and Indians forts seen in many a film and TV series across the decades, so we can see the way the land was used and built upon with domestic homes or dwellings surrounded by high walls.

Other questions that could easily be answered by a Google search or an online dictionary or thesaurus include:

John Legend sings “all of me” and states “your my muse.” What does it mean when someone is your muse?

How do I say “dinero” in English?

What word starts with “FAS” but isn’t “fast”?

What has been called “a good walk spoiled”?

What is a real name that starts with the letter R? (I’m dying to know the difference between a “real” and and a “fake” name in this questioner’s mind.)

What is the difference between “grandma” and “great grandma”? When should the terms be used, respectively?

So, there you have it. Please help by spreading the word that an online, dictionary, thesaurus, or simple Google search can answer a lot of life’s burning questions.