When one is asked a yes/no question, what is the correct response?
To my mind, this is such a simple concept yet everytime I see people responding to yes/no questions, they begin new tangents, present new questions, and, overall, just avoid the question which began the entire conversation. Am I being overly demanding in asking people to stick to appropriate responses to yes/no questions?
>>16593430
Yes, No or let me think about it.
Maybe.
Sometimes the answer is more complicated than a simple yes or no would warrant, or the question is based on a faulty premise (that yes/no are the only appropriate responses to yes or no questions) and sometimes people are trying to have a conversation. Just saying yes or no doesn't facilitate a proper conversation.
Or if you prefer, yes.
Are you asking real yes or no questions? Like can "can I have some of your sandwhich?" Or are you asking loaded yes or no questions like "Star wars is the best film ever, yes or no?". If your asking opinion/open questions and trying to reduce it to yes or no, then yeah your being overly commanding, in addition to being condescending.
>>16593430
Because reality isn't as cut and dry as "yes or no". You sound like a lawyer.
>>16593447
This is understandable, as in the following respectively:
>Is abortion immoral? (simple yes/no won't cut it)
>Do you still beat your wife? (faulty premise)
>Did you go to the park today?
But what if one is asked something that is purely a matter of opinion?
>Is X a good candidate for president?
>Do you like Y food?
>In your opinion, is Z a good car?
>>16593457
Can you give me an example of such a question and explaing why it would be condescending?
>>16593505
Answer questions as you see fit. Yes or no don't apply to everything, use discretion.
>>16593430
You don't really get to control how other people speak and express themselves
>>16593505
Let's take one of your questions, for example.
Is X a good candidate? Yes (or no) works, but as a person I have strong feelings about x and his bullshit policies, by trying to get just a yes or no from me you have made me feel like you don't value my thought process just the end result of it.
Some people want to talk about why they reached that yes or no. If you ignore that process, they'll feel slighted.
>>16593528
You're certainly right. We don't live in a world of blanket white or black but it's as you say: we must use discretion, judgment, and common sense to formulate our responses to inquiry. My opinion is just that that is seriously lacking.
>>16593565
Maybe I'm being perceived as controlling, but I don't see myself as trying to control others, but merely as advising them on a better, clearer form of communication. Common everyday discourse is so fraught with poor conversational habits that it really makes communication confusing.
>>16593571
I see. It's not that I'm merely looking for a yes/no but that I'm looking for some kind of resolutiion to their thoughts. Of course, I want to hear one's arguments, reasoning and thought processes, but too often one drones on without coming to some conclusion. And I don't just mean yes or no: it's perfectly acceptable to come to the conclusion that one has no satisfying conclusion at the moment.
>>16593430
> When one is asked a yes/no question, what is the correct response?
When a police officer asks if you have weed, the correct response is NO.
Regardless.
People need to justify things to themselves and part of that is redefining the scenario.
are you pro abortion yes or no
>I-Im pro choice
Yes or no
>It's not my business what women do. I'm pro choice.
The person above wants to say yes but can't accept the connotations of a yes answer. One of many reasons why bubble sheets/check boxes would be very effective
