No such thing as a dumb question

There's a recurring dilemma in my life that I've never found a comfortable solution for. The situation that brings it to mind most recently is my trip to the dentist yesterday. When I scheduled to have my molar extracted over a month ago, no one told me it might disrupt my day to the point that I should have taken the afternoon off of work. They said, "No big deal, it will be an easy extraction, since it's already erupted." I took this at face value. They asked, When would I like to schedule it? Oh, any old time will do. 1pm on a Wednesday? That's fine.

I don't want to exaggerate and say it was this huge, painful, bloody ordeal. It wasn't really. (Instead, it was a small, uncomfortable, bloody ordeal) But it left a huge hole where my tooth used to be and aa mouthful of gauze for the rest of the day. Talking was a slobbery chore, my cheek looked huge and puffy, and I was spitting blood for hours. Furthermore, I was given a prescription for Lortab. Which I thought was a big deal. I mean, isn't it one of the drugs people abuse? (It has little to no effect on me unless I really slam a few. Nitrous Oxide, the same story. Bor-ing!) Anyway...

My problem is with the way we share information with each other. I can never seem to find the right balance. I've always had trouble when starting a new job or learning a new process. I either ask too many questions, and look like a simpleton (and people treat me accordingly), or I don't ask enough and make copius mistakes, incurring personal injury and/or loss. Either way, it seems I'm bound for some discomfort when learning or experiencing something new. Either I subject myself to the condescending attitude people cannot seem to overcome when they have some information that you don't, or I can run headlong into the proverbial squeaky clean sliding glass door, after which I get up, dust myself off and go, "I meant to do that."

I usually resign myself to the former in new situations. I end up having to submit my pride to such comments as,
"Well, you've used the Internet before haven't you, how can you not know what a meta-tag is?" or
"You can't replace the head without a new gasket set! Do you want to ruin your engine?"
or
"Did you fill out a request for authorization? Did you think the form was going to fill itself out?"

Some of you know what I'm talking about. You've met these monsters at the DMV, training for your new job, or maybe at your in-laws house. (Children, I might add, are the worst at this. They abuse their knowledge over others unrepentantly. "You don't know how to spell Mississippi? What an idiot! It's only the easiest word in the universe!!!") The average person, it seems, young or old, gets a small amount of pleasure in knowing more about a certain subject to the point that they lose their ability to mask their disgust for those who do not. I find it very entertaining and extremely frustrating all at once.


Conversely, there are those that go the other route. Pretend you already know everything. Never ask a question and talk over anyone who tries to correct a mistake in progress. Like the guy who totally fabricates his resume and blunders around his new job going, "Yeah, I know, I know. We just did it differently were I worked before. These machines are weird!" as he fumbles to make copies on the Zerox. I am definitely not this type of person. I usually prefer to get talked down to rather than look stupid acting like I know what's going on. One day i may just stand up to the abrasive abuser of knowledge, but it just makes things worse and they call you "overly-sensitive"... which would destroy me!

But yesterday was a unique case, I didn't consciously decide to not ask questions surrounding a new experience. I wasn't given any clues that it might be an uncomfortable, inconvenient process. This one was their fault, I feel. They got lazy and forgot that I might not now what an extraction entails. Anyways, it wasn't that big a deal, it just reminded me of this small dichotomy. I just wish the maxim, 'There's no such thing as a dumb question" was universally recognized in our culture. It would save me a lot of grief.