Is it OK to ask a question and then answer it myself?
1 Answer
Yes! Asking and answering your own question on Socratic is 100% OK. In fact, we encourage it.
The reason for this: by answering questions on Socratic, we are not only helping the individuals who asked them, but we are also creating a lasting resource for anyone who needs that information in the future.
In other words, just because a question hasn’t yet been asked on Socratic doesn’t mean there aren’t students out there who need answers.
Those students are out there, and asking + answering our own questions is one more way we can anticipate their confusion and make learning easier.
So: If you’re great at explaining a dense topic, ask a question and give a great explanation. If you recently found a useful solution to a tricky problem, ask the question and document what you’ve found.
Answering your own questions shouldn’t be abused, though—don’t answer your own questions to start argumentative discussions, prove a point, or devalue others’ work. The goal should always be to make learning easier!
For further reading, we like Stack Overflow’s blog post on the same topic.
