Thoughtful Inquiry Quotes

Asking the right questions is as important as answering them

Question everyone in authority, and see that you get sensible answers to your questions ... questioning does not mean the end of loving, and loving does not mean the abnegation of intelligence. Vow as much love to your country as you like ... but, I implore you, do not forget to question.

If you ask questions that interest you, you'll get answers that interest your audience.

Only good questions deserve good answers.

A well-trained man knows how to answer questions; an educated man knows what questions are worth asking.

Scientists are skeptics. It's unfortunate that the word 'skeptic' has taken on other connotations in the culture involving nihilism and cynicism. Really, in its pure and original meaning, it's just thoughtful inquiry.

Good questions outrank easy answers.

The real question one should ask when presented with a puzzle is, ‘Should I solve it? Do I really need to know the answer?

To ask questions can become the laziest and wobbliest occupation of a mind, but when you must yourself answer the problem that you have posed, you will meditate your question with care and frame it with precision.

A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.

Scientists are skeptics. It's unfortunate that the word 'skeptic' has taken on other connotations in the culture involving nihilism and cynicism. Really, in its pure and original meaning, it's just thoughtful inquiry.

You have to learn to ask questions in a way that will elicit more nuanced answers, rather than the answers you would like to get.

Pico Iyer describes his writing as "intimate letters to a stranger," and I think that is what the writing process is. It begins with a question, and then you follow this path of exploration.