I think "that's the right question" has some problems as well:
- It gives the impression that I know what the right question is
- It conveys nothing about my ability to give any meaningful input
- Is there only one right question?
Personally, I use "It depends" only in the context where I'm pretty sure my opposite understands that I am using it as a kind of joke (and that an answer might take longer than expected and will involve participation). As such, I think the phrase is doing all right.
I agree. It may well not be the right question at all, because the person asking it has jumped ahead to try to nail down a solution without properly considering the problem.
It may be a "good" question, but I don't think that's much better.
I think "it depends" is fine as long as it is just the precursor to a discussion about the problem space and the trade offs involved with possible solutions.
Part of the "problem" with "it depends" is that, quite often, the person asking the original question doesn't have the answers necessary to determine whether solution A or B is appropriate, and you can't get that information without involving more people or spending a fair bit of time drilling into the problem at hand.
In the Clojure world, we're encouraged to avoid jumping to solutions and to make sure the problem statement is clear and the problem space is well understood.
Maybe "Hmm, interesting question... shall we take a step back and look at what the problem requires, so we can make an informed decision?"
I think "that's the right question" has some problems as well:
- It gives the impression that I know what the right question is
- It conveys nothing about my ability to give any meaningful input
- Is there only one right question?
Personally, I use "It depends" only in the context where I'm pretty sure my opposite understands that I am using it as a kind of joke (and that an answer might take longer than expected and will involve participation). As such, I think the phrase is doing all right.
I agree. It may well not be the right question at all, because the person asking it has jumped ahead to try to nail down a solution without properly considering the problem.
It may be a "good" question, but I don't think that's much better.
I think "it depends" is fine as long as it is just the precursor to a discussion about the problem space and the trade offs involved with possible solutions.
Part of the "problem" with "it depends" is that, quite often, the person asking the original question doesn't have the answers necessary to determine whether solution A or B is appropriate, and you can't get that information without involving more people or spending a fair bit of time drilling into the problem at hand.
In the Clojure world, we're encouraged to avoid jumping to solutions and to make sure the problem statement is clear and the problem space is well understood.
Maybe "Hmm, interesting question... shall we take a step back and look at what the problem requires, so we can make an informed decision?"