What’s that principle where you don’t know you’re asking the wrong question because you’ve got this idea in your head on how to do something, so you search frustratingly. If you could step up a level and find the right question, you’d find a well established, efficient solution.

Related to unknown unknowns I guess, but I came across a phrase or word encapsulating it, and now I can’t remember or (ironically) find it.

ETA: It’s the XY Problem, thanks Bophades@midwest.social.

  • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.clubEnglish
    5·
    4 hours ago

    Take a step back and explain context. I’ve found, when working as a subject matter expert, people focus on the wrong parts of the problem when asking the question and will try to optimize their question for the wrong thing.

    Explaining how the problem came about adds context and helps you ask the questions you don’t know to ask.

      • Dragon "Rider"(drag)@lemmy.nzEnglish
        33·
        10 hours ago

        Drag hates the XY problem not because of the noobs who mess up, but because of the greybeards who are supposed to know better. Drag can’t count the times drag googled a problem, went to a stackoverflow question asking exactly what drag wants, and there are no replies answering drag’s question. Instead, the greybeards have correctly realised that the noob is suffering from an XY problem, and told them the solution to the actual problem. This is great for the noob, not so great for drag and the dozens of other people who found the question from Google. Nobody answered the question we googled! And worse, if we make a thread asking the question, it will likely be closed as a duplicate. Greybeards need to answer the question the noob asked so that these repositories of knowledge can be useful.

  • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
    5·
    15 hours ago

    So now that you’ve got your Y problem solved, what was the X problem that led you to trying to remember the phrase? Or did you solve that part, but still had that nagging question in the back of your mind?