“It’s only by looking at the naive questions that you get an idea of the level of understanding out there”
Steve would love to work peacefully from home, but the builders next door have other ideas. Luckily, he’s distracted by a hot question in Quora
If there’s one thing that focuses the mind on the plight of the homeworker, it’s the sound of a drill failing to disturb a chunk of granite embedded in concrete. Yes, next door has the builders in. I can’t just put my headphones on and keep working: when dealing with the concrete, granite and rebar mix from which my house is made, the soundpropagation capabilities of this method of construction defeat even the best of headphones. The noise comes in through the soles of your feet. It comes from the opposite wall, from the bed if you’re foolish enough to essay a midday nap. Headphones don’t cut it, being across the road doesn’t cut it and aren’t we supposed to be staying indoors if we can?
It was an enquiry on quora.com that came to my rescue. Sometimes what looks like the dumbest question in the world can be a great introduction to a complex and often challenging topic. Trying to escape from the drilling, tapping, bashing, screwing screw and chiselling contractors next door, I took refuge in that question-posing service. “Why,” someone asked, “does my computer make my room at home all hot and dry?”
It’s easy to snigger about this type of question, but far more rewarding if you dig a bit deeper: for one thing, Quora pays (not much) those who pose questions, and some of those simple questions are actually traffic stimulators. More im portantly, it’s only by looking at the silly or naive questions that you get an idea of the level of understanding out there.
And here’s a news flash: computers produce heat.
I know this sounds so basic we really shouldn’t be thinking about it, but I can’t be the only techie who’s come across hot-running machines