If, as the world turns, a question occurs to you, how do you capture it for later discussion?
Asked by
DaphneT (
5750![points](//d3phpakcjc7x1x.cloudfront.net/images/v2/star.png)
)
December 27th, 2012
Swear to the gods of Fluther, the 30 minute drive home produced 3 or 4 good questions, and typing this one isn’t bringing a single one to mind. What do you do to recall that perfect question? Who you ask? It was about women’s roles. When you ask? Current events. Why was it important? It seemed that past trends are pushing society into a specific path. But can I remember the lovely phrasing, the context and juxtaposition of…? Ugh!
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
12 Answers
Gotta be some way to dictate those thoughts into your phone memory?
If I can, I will text myself a note, or call myself and leave a message. Sometimes I type a note in notepad, if I can. But I lose about half the questions I think of because they come at the wrong time, and I can’t make a note of them.
I wonder if that scares anyone—that the questions I ask represent about half of those I think of.
If the world stops turning, then I’m sure I’ll have a question about that. Otherwise, I google most of my questions.
Sometimes I use a marvelous information storage and retrieval device that I happen to have. It’s known as paper and pencil.
I recall a question if it is important to me. If I can’t remember it, it wasn’t important.
May I ask, what is a perfect question? If it was perfect, wouldn’t you remember it?
Since the details of your question specifically bring up the problem of how to remember those questions that come to you while driving, I believe @woodcutter may have the best solution. There should be some way for you to speak a note into a smartphone, if you have one.
If you don’t have a smartphone to take a note, try using other memory helpers. Make an object in the car representative of a story surrounding the question. Weave a tale that will be difficult to forget.
If your phone has a “sounds” file you should be able to record a short message, as if you were going to insert it along with a pic message. Doesn’t necessarily need to be a smartphone as long as it is web capable.
there is always the tried and true note pad and pen…or pencil. Probably less hassle than a phone.
I have decided to remind myself to ask fewer questions.
Man, I always think of questions while I’m driving, too, and forget probably two thirds of them. If I really want to remember one, I make up a little song about it and sing it to myself pretty much nonstop until I can write it down or I get home. Don’t judge me.
@augustlan I judge you. But only because you said not to. Never would have occurred to me, otherwise.
I third the dictation recommendation.
The newer iPhones have a microphone pop up next to the space bar on the keyboard, so you can dictate instead of type in nearly any application – even writing a response on Fluther! I had to write an article for work recently, and I dictated paragraphs on my commute. I do some of my best thinking while driving…
My flip phone before the iPhone came out – so I got it around 2004 – had a voice memo recorder. Even if your mobile device records video, you can use that just for the audio.
I am usually kicking 10 or 20 questions/thoughts around in my head, letting them develop for a while, and potential questions for Fluther are wobbling around in there. Sometimes the questions don’t come out for weeks or a month. And not all of them make it out, fortunately.
I think participating in Fluther has made me better at both conversation and teaching, because I often think of how to phrase a question properly/most effectively now.
Answer this question ![sending...](//d3phpakcjc7x1x.cloudfront.net/images/v2/ajax-loader.gif)