Ask a Foolish Question
- 1 online resource : multiple file formats
- Produced Science Fiction Stories 1953. .
- Produced Science Fiction Stories 1953. .
Release date is 2010-10-11
Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
"Ask a Foolish Question" by Robert Sheckley is a science fiction story written during the early 1950s. The narrative explores the philosophical implications of knowledge and inquiry through a central entity known as the Answerer, designed to provide answers to any question posed by the beings of the universe. The story raises intriguing questions about the nature of knowledge itself, highlighting how the formulation of a question can heavily influence the response received. In the tale, two central characters, Morran and Lingman, embark on a quest to find the Answerer, desperately seeking the ultimate truths about life and death. Meanwhile, a variety of other beings also seek answers to their own existential questions. However, when they finally confront the Answerer, they discover that their inquiries often lack the depth necessary to receive meaningful responses. The Answerer, while possessing vast knowledge, can only respond to questions that are framed correctly, exposing the limitations of the questioners' understanding. The story concludes with a poignant realization that without a foundational understanding, the questions posed will inevitably fail to reveal the profound truths they seek, emphasizing the complex relationship between knowledge, inquiry, and comprehension. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Science fiction Short stories Questions and answers -- Fiction