Why.

Post Reply New Topic

Do you always have to question why something happens?
I am that way, and it annoys my teachers to death, like with theoroms in math or something, I ask why it happens, and they just tell me 'Well, that's just what it says, and we have to listen to it'
It drives me crazy if I don't know why something isn't so.

Why?

I have this too. Not really with math, because math is so lovely in being "just because".

But for many things I demand to know why.

oh yeah, I didn't just mean math. Anything. People just think I am being stubborn, but if I don't know why, it is harder for me to do it.

Yeah, even with rules. I want to know why we shouldn't do this. I follow them, but I want to know WHY? Why can't we lick our fingers instead of using napkins? Why do we put elbows on the table? Why is it not okay to take food home from an all-you-can-eat buffet?

I know right!? I love my all-you-can-eat buffets, particularly of the Chinese variety.

AT my last job I was reprimanded in front of co-workers for asking too many why questions. I was told to, "Stop asking questions and just do what you're told." Needless to say I didn't last long in that position.

Yeah. And I hate wasting such precious food.

I know! Someone has to eat it before it goes to waste!
Chinese food is the best!!

Yes! I always have to know why.

Why do you ask?

Miss, why do we have to go to school?

Miss, why do we have to line up?

I don't understand Miss, why do I have to learn Maths?


No wonder they didn't know what to do with me!

Lol

yeah i've noticed that aspies generally question things...maybe it's because we're not linked in with the mob-mentality of the universe...and can't be brainwashed into adopting society's arbitrary traditions...maybe it's because we're naturally curious?

example: why do boys wear pants and girls wear skirts?

the only answer i could ever get for that one is "that's the way it's always been"...even though that's a lie in itself, as cave dwellers just ran around with bits of fur attached to them...

i would never accept an arbitrary thing unless there was a clear reason for it...x

Yes.

It's actually easier for me to remember things/how to do things, if I understand the 'why'.

Further I find compliance with rules very difficult without a 'why'. In every instance I lack motivation to comply, and even may have difficulty recalling rules I do not understand.

Also very often I have a strong compulsion toward non-compliance if I do not understand the 'why' of a rule (especially if the rule also appears to conflict with other more general 'philosophical rules' like fairness or personal freedom.

I actually don't have much of a problem following rules without a why. I prefer to know why especially if its a dumb rule.. but knowing that it's the rule is enough for me to feel like it needs to be followed. I can be a bit of a stickler at times.

Xanderbeanz, now you have me pondering the skirt vs. pants question. No idea when it started.. but I'm guessing it had something to do with 'accessibility' in a promiscuous culture.

Long ago, both men and women wore skirts (robes, tunics). But as agrarian societies grew larger and clothes manufacturing became more specialized, men moved to pants and women did not. The earlier pants laced up or were made up with small buttons, and not that easy to take on and off all the time. Since women can't urinate with their pants up, it was really impractical for them to wear pants.

I suppose you could fantasize that skirts and dresses were mandated by some easy-access-for-sex rule. But that's hard to believe in light of the day-to-day requirements of living and working in the clothes you wear. Plus, the fact that the whole major slice of culture that we call "fashion" is historically used to make a woman more beautiful and respected, not outfit her to be a faster-to-access slut (unless the woman is a prostitute and the sex fashions have their own really fascinating history).

Last edited by ephemerella on 03 Dec 2008, 8:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I follow rules when they don't conflict with my systems. If something conflicts with my systems, I don't follow the rule unless (1) I have to and there is no other choice and/or (2) it doesn't matter that much or it's not hard to do.

If someone tells me to do something a particular way, and I don't know why, I generally will do it my way. If I get caught, I explain why I was doing it my way. If they can explain well why it should be done their way, I will update my system. If there is no meaning to the rule, however, and it conflicts with my system in a meaningful way, I will do what they want me to do but the situation is clearly understood to be that they own the outcome (i.e. any failure) and I'm just going along.