“Black Hole Words” and the power of asking stupid questions
mollyg.substack.com
Thanks for reading Lessons! Subscribe to receive new posts. First of all let me say, I seem to only take jobs that I feel super unqualified for, and the number one thing it has taught me is that it is actually an extraordinarily powerful skill to ask the “stupid” questions that everyone else is afraid to ask.
A black hole word I was constantly on the lookout for in my previous career (military planning) was "ensure." The ultimate (no-actual-meaning) verb - e.g., ensure [X condition] occurs.
It was a great flag of poor analysis, logic, critical thinking, or communication and served as one of my barometers on how much deeper did I need to look or how much more skeptical - and how many more clarifying ("Molly-") questions should I ask.
A black hole word I was constantly on the lookout for in my previous career (military planning) was "ensure." The ultimate (no-actual-meaning) verb - e.g., ensure [X condition] occurs.
It was a great flag of poor analysis, logic, critical thinking, or communication and served as one of my barometers on how much deeper did I need to look or how much more skeptical - and how many more clarifying ("Molly-") questions should I ask.
Great post - thank you!
I love this. I have so many questions.