Sometimes I’ll be asked a question by someone who is a self proclaimed novice. For example, I was helping someone set up a computer, and they professed no computer knowledge and jested about not knowing.
Then they proceeded to give me avenues of solving the problem that I would have explored as well.
What I feel in these situations, and the reason for my writing, is a sense of doubt in their skill and that it is greater than they suggest. I immediately wonder if they are in fact smarter and just testing me (though I know this is the unlikely case). “Have you tried…”
My sense is they actually have the solution to the problem and are tricking me.
Maybe I am the fool.