People who can't answer simple questions

[Rageaholic]

without.

a. Acting snarky, like I should know the answer. Then taking the time they could be answering the question to berate me for not knowing.

b. Dancing around the answer, answering things I already know or didn't ask, but completely missing the point of my original question.

c. Rambling for 5 minutes when the question can be answered in 5 seconds.

I've experienced all three of these things at one time, but the one the bugs me the most right now is c. I have a professor who I am reluctant to ask any questions because he always manages to turn it into another lecture. He'll waste 5 minutes explaining unnecessary crap that ends up making it 10 times more confusing.

Seriously, what is so hard about giving a simple answer? In the words of the Nostalgia Critic, JUST. EX. PLAIN!!!!!!

[blas87]

I hate A the worst, or especially when they treat you like you're an idiot for asking. I have one coworker in particular who practically sticks his nose up in the air when he delivers an answer to a question, making them all seem like "duh", when they aren't always. And besides, not everyone knows the answer to everything, there are new people, sometimes people want a second opinion before they take a risk of being blamed for something.

[HYHYBT]

On c: sometimes, a simple question requires a complex, or at least lengthy, answer. Sometimes an apparently-simple question really isn't. Sometimes what might otherwise be a simple, short answer depends on shades of meaning that the questioner didn't specify and may not have realized were relevant. Sometimes the answerer doesn't know how much necessary background the questioner already knows. Sometimes the question serves as a launching pad for a lecture or rant the answerer was going to go into anyway... and sometimes people just have trouble coming to the point

One problem is that the one asking the question often cannot tell which of those (or other possibilities) is the case.

[DrFaroohk]

I hate A as well. Sometimes i get a lecture about how I should look it up my own damn self and people have better things to do than answer all my questions (apparently lecturing me is a better way to spend their time).

[blas87]

Oh gosh, I hate that so much, that damn lecturing. I've gotten a few lectures in the past couple of weeks which were pretty much repeating verbatim what the process/procedure is that I did "wrong" or I was questioning, and it's like, does that make you feel better to talk down to me? Pathetic.