[pct-l] "If you have to ask the question..."

[Nathan Dreon]

It is raining and I'm putting off fixing a leak under my kitchen sink, so...


I once asked an old guy why he joined the US Navy.  He had signed up shortly after Pearl Harbor.  I was expecting he would tell me about patriotism, a desire to stand with his fellow citizens, maybe wanting to strike back at an attacker.  Nope.  He told me he signed up because got tired of working for a living.  He was the son of a tenant farmer during the Depression and he was plowing fields behind a mule.  Hard work and the view is not that great.  That was a surprise, very understandable and quite funny, as it was meant to be.  I'm glad I asked.

Which brings me to:
"If you have to ask the question, you cannot understand the answer".  That and minor variations seem to get a lot of air time.  I have heard it used when speaking about climbing, hiking, sky diving, etc.  It makes me smile.

The speaker apparently believes curious people are so limited that they cannot understand his insightful and lucid explanation.  Presumably this is because he has explained his reasons many times before and no one who asked has ever understood, so he assumes they simply don't have the capacity.  One (admittedly extreme) alternative reason for the listeners' lack of understanding is that the inarticulate mumblings offered as an explanation were so garbled that no one could make out what the guy said, let alone figure out what he meant.  I can certainly understand why that alternative would not be entertained by the speaker.  Of course I don't know what the actual reason is, I'm sure it is different for different people but like the old Chief I am amused by my little joke, so I smile when I hear "If you have…."

I would ask other people what they think of this phrase but of course "If you have to ask …."

Nathan