Is Asking Unanswerable Quetions Pointless?

I’ve mentioned the podcast many times before, but over the last year, I’ve listened to dozens of hours of Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast. One of the things I love about the way that he presents history is the hypothetical questions he asks. It really helps the imagination get going with thoughts of “what if.”

When we’re kids, we naturally have an inclination to ask these kinds of questions. “What is the moon went away?” “What would happen if it never rained?” Questions that, as we get older, we stop asking. We stop asking because they seem silly. We don’t need to know what would happen because we know they won’t happen. Why spend time thinking about something that won’t happen.

I don’t remember very well, but I think this was something talked about extensively with some of my friends who were deep into philosophy. Much of philosophy is asking questions about things that will never happen. Is there use in this? Is it a waste of time or is it a good brain exercise?

Well, I hyped this post up as if I had something big to say, but I have neither an answer nor honestly a strong opinion on the matter. The reason I ask is because in the podcast it’s something he does quite a lot. Talking about “if this General made this decision in the battle instead of the one he did, what would happen? Would that have changed the outcome of the war in this way?” It’s a way for the imagination of the story really take your mind into the land of exploration of the times. To explore, what if you were that General? How would you make the decision? What choice would you settle on?

As it comes to more of the philosophy side of things — the whole “if a tree fell in the woods and no one was there to hear it, would it make a noise” I honestly can’t say the usefulness or unusefulness of the question. I think, as with most things, these kinds of questions can be obsessed over with a priority level that is unhealthy, but I don’t think there is a lot of harm in contemplating over the question.

All of this providing you are still taking time to talk about the questions that do have answers — and more importantly, those questions in which if you get the answer wrong, you have severe punishment awaiting you.

In conclusion, I don’t think asking unanswerable questions is pointless, and can even bring some joy and reflection, but I do think obsessing over these questions puts you on dangerous ground.