I was at my new job today. It struck me that the thing I was doing, all day, was asking questions. Not just getting background information (which is also important to go ahead and ask about) but also about process, structure, use, meaning, and purposefulness. Asking questions is what these folks are paying me to do right now. We create lists together then we reconvene and talk to the right people. I things, I repeat back what they are telling me, I try to break things apart. I dissect it, and I constant repeat it until I get it. I talked all day. I think there is something marvelous to this strategy.

Digging and rummaging around to know what you don´t know.

It keeps me from feeling like a robot could take my job. In fact, I had this line in mind today when one of my favorite interviewers Krista Tippet interviews philosopher about technology Kevin Kelly. He talks how how being askers of good questions is the most important contribution of humans in a coming world of artificial intelligence. He says:

And I think, ultimately… there’s a kind of a larger resonance of this idea of asking a question, of asking “why?” — not just “Why?” the first time, but “Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?” all the way down, as far as we can go.