People who ask questions after lectures

[motomed]

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I love how this thread started out being about the people who ask questions constantly, as if they'd feel like they left home without their cell phone if they left lecture without asking something, and a bunch of people (presumably the ones we're talking about....) chime in with all the reasons one might occasionally ask a legit question.... two different concepts.... one is annoying... one isn't.... I have no interest in trying to figure out why the one annoys me.... it just does and I'm fine with that. as I said earlier, it probably has something to do with knowing I'll have to work with these overly neurotic people sooner or later...

 

[redsquareblack]

I love how this thread started out being about the people who ask questions constantly, as if they'd feel like they left home without their cell phone if they left lecture without asking something,

Well, actually, it started out being about how the OP was annoyed that the same small group of people seem to routinely ask questions after lecture. Full stop.

and a bunch of people (presumably the ones we're talking about....) chime in with all the reasons one might occasionally ask a legit question....

Presumably? Nah, that was a straight-up assumption.

One wonders who made you the arbiter of question legitimacy. Either way, I ask questions after most lectures, so I'll ask you this question: Is it the fact that someone would ask questions after lectures on a regular basis that bothers you, or is it the fact that often the kind of person who does this also happens to be the sort of person who asks inane questions?

two different concepts.... one is annoying... one isn't.... I have no interest in trying to figure out why the one annoys me.... it just does and I'm fine with that. as I said earlier, it probably has something to do with knowing I'll have to work with these overly neurotic people sooner or later...

Interestingly, getting annoyed by the fact that others ask questions of the faculty at a time and in a manner that is not disruptive of class is more typical of neurosis than the asking itself.

 

[sideways]

^what could you possibly be asking after every lecture?

"Any suggestion as to how memorize today's bolus of uninteresting minutiae? No? Okay. Well I'll ask again tomorrow."

 

[redsquareblack]

^what could you possibly be asking after every lecture?

"Any suggestion as to how memorize today's bolus of uninteresting facts? No? Okay. Well I'll ask again tomorrow."

Depends on the class, and on the subject matter. I didn't say I ask after every lecture, mind you. But many, if not most, yes, sure.

I am lucky to be going to a school where the faculty not only loves their research, but they love teaching, as well. Often, faculty will mention something as a side note that's related to their work that is interesting to me, or that I'm a bit unclear on. In those cases, I find it's best to ask for clarification from someone who not only researches it for a living, but also communicates their research as part of their job.

Sometimes, I'll ask a question about the way in which some disparate concepts are interrelated (obviously, if the class notes are explicit about such a relationship, there's no question to ask).

Still other times, as a former teacher I am interested in pedagogical approach, or maybe the degree to which an analogy fits a particular concept (not only for my understanding, but for my ability to explain it to others).

Point is, it is possible to have many questions to ask on a regular basis without being either A) OCD or B) a kiss-ass. Besides, in my experience, it's fairly easy to see through the latter, anyway, and being seen as a kiss-ass is of no use to me.

In any event, your mock question reveals quite a bit about why you might think it weird to ask questions: I tend not to find lectures to be boluses of uninteresting minutiae.

 

[sideways]

Depends on the class, and on the subject matter. I didn't say I ask after every lecture, mind you. But many, if not most, yes, sure.

I am lucky to be going to a school where the faculty not only loves their research, but they love teaching, as well. Often, faculty will mention something as a side note that's related to their work that is interesting to me, or that I'm a bit unclear on. In those cases, I find it's best to ask for clarification from someone who not only researches it for a living, but also communicates their research as part of their job.

Sometimes, I'll ask a question about the way in which some disparate concepts are interrelated (obviously, if the class notes are explicit about such a relationship, there's no question to ask).

Still other times, as a former teacher I am interested in pedagogical approach, or maybe the degree to which an analogy fits a particular concept (not only for my understanding, but for my ability to explain it to others).

Point is, it is possible to have many questions to ask on a regular basis without being either A) OCD or B) a kiss-ass. Besides, in my experience, it's fairly easy to see through the latter, anyway, and being seen as a kiss-ass is of no use to me.

In any event, your mock question reveals quite a bit about why you might think it weird to ask questions: I tend not to find lectures to be boluses of uninteresting minutiae.

I've learned 50,000 things in 2 years of medical school. 3 of them I found interesting. Different strokes.

 

[motomed]

Still other times, as a former teacher I am interested in pedagogical approach, or maybe the degree to which an analogy fits a particular concept (not only for my understanding, but for my ability to explain it to others).

I lol'd!

 

[redsquareblack]

I lol'd!

 

[womp]

I love how this thread started out being about the people who ask questions constantly, as if they'd feel like they left home without their cell phone if they left lecture without asking something, and a bunch of people (presumably the ones we're talking about....) chime in with all the reasons one might occasionally ask a legit question.... two different concepts.... one is annoying... one isn't.... I have no interest in trying to figure out why the one annoys me.... it just does and I'm fine with that. as I said earlier, it probably has something to do with knowing I'll have to work with these overly neurotic people sooner or later...

Yup...

Neurotic people on the defense love this guy:

 

[bomgd3]

I don't really ask questions in lecture because I need some time to understand the information and identify gaps, but if someone paid good tuition money and wants to ask questions without interrupting the class, who the hell cares?

 

[redsquareblack]

Yup...

Neurotic people on the defense love this guy:

Sigh, it's somewhat disappointing to have to write this, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out that pointing out that there are legitimate reasons for asking questions after lecture on a routine basis to an OP who expressed annoyance that people ask questions after lecture on a routine basis is not a strawman.

Rather, it is a case of subtly making the (arguably charitable) point that perhaps OP has better things to do with his/her time than worry what the hell other people do on their time.

 

[Mattchiavelli]

all I have to say is if someone doesn't want to answer the questions of a few med students maybe they shouldn't be a professor at a med school. It's part of the job description.

 

[dr zaius]

You're all terrible people.

 

[betsywetsy]

.

 

[2012mdc]

If they're doing it after lecture is done. Why does it matter? You go pee, they go ask a Q.... no biggie.

It doesn't matter and it doesn't bother me. I didn't start this thread lol. I just find it curious.

But also the people who are up there after every class are the same ones who don't think things through during lecture and ask stupid questions during lecture. A lot of the times they are up at the podium after class are because the prof cut them off during lecture

 

[2012mdc]

I truly hate when people can't verbalize their thoughts, or when people are so confused by a lecture, they can't even formulate an intelligent question about it and have to write to the professor 10 days later for clarification on slide 22. I just don't get people like that.

Stop hacking into the prof's email and you'll never know it happens

 

[kedrin]

Frankly I find all of the questions being asked here kind of annoying... sheesh who does that.


On a serious note.... I dislike people who ask obvious questions that are easily searchable, during and after class. People in medical school should be at a high enough level to find their own answers. If they cant then yea its perfectly acceptable to ask a professor a question. 9/10 chance that people who are asking a question either werent listening or were too damned lazy to take 5 seconds to look it up.

It is acceptable to be annoyed with others behaviors that do not directly affect you. I can find anything that I want to be annoying, like most of you .

 

[shadowfox87]

Never fails...after every lecture, the same 5-10 people make a beeline for the podium to ask questions.

How can they have questions about material they haven't gotten to study yet? 😕

What?? You got something against people asking questions after class? I mean I can understand questions DURING class can interrupt the lecture time and sometimes sidetrack the entire lecture, BUT asking questions after lecture is fine with me.

How do you know that they haven't gotten to that material yet? You're right that there are certain people that will ask questions after EVERY lecture, but I still don't have any problems with that.

Who cares?

 

[quepatho]

I can tell you why one of my friends does it. He does it so that he has something to help him remember the lecture afterwards. He has difficulty studying at home (he wishes he could just watch videos at 2x cause he thinks that would save him time).

I sort of understand, too, why he does it. It's easier to remember if you do something a little "interactive" after the lecture, even if it's not directly related to a test question. I went to a small college for undergrad and I remember the days when people still cared what I thought about and had to say (lonnnng gone), and the interactive discussions where I had to make a contribution were some that I will remember forever.

It's just too easy to fall asleep (mentally) during lectures. Basically, my friend says if he doesn't force himself to be engaged in the lecture then he forgets things. But he knows that ppl will be mad if he asks questions during the lecture cause that throws off the 50 minute stream.

I used to go to class until that took up too much time 🙁🙁.

 

[Mace1370]

People who ask questions during lecture annoy me. People who ask questions after every lecture confuse me. I solved this problem by not going to class.

 

[Just Joshin]

Yes this is very annoying...why?...because I too have questions after every lecture...but guess what...95% of them are easily answered by studying or researching for the answer on my own. The rest of the 5% are usually answered when asking another student or someone who is ahead of you. The last thing I do is bug the professor

Med school education really is a study in business brilliance. They have you, the customer, fearing bugging a professor because he (the professor) wasn't clear. Let's see, what are we paying 40-grand a year for again? Oh right, to be an astute audience for two years and nothing more.

 

[Just Joshin]

I dont get what you mean by "take their time to actually be annoyed".

I won't speak for MSW, but my guess is he means that people actually take time out of their day to post their annoyance. To me, that suggests you don't have a life if you care that much about what someone else does.

I remember in undergrad for one class this same girl always asked a question EVERY SINGLE LECTURE, and yes some questions were valid, but on certain lectures where it was pretty straightforward her questions were ridicolous and you can easily tell she was just asking for the sake of asking. And yes...everytime she raised her hand, that was extra time I had to sit in that god awful boring class and yes, everyone in our row would roll their eyes at her every time.

Because that affected your time. This doesn't affect you in any way, shape, or form. So tell me again, why are you so bothered? Or are you one of those people who has to find something to be bothered about every day?

 

[Just Joshin]

Oh please save the sanctimonious rant. You're the kind of doctor I would want to avoid with a ten foot pole.

The OP is talking about the people who ask a question after every lecture every single day and are likely to be a piece of work when third year comes. And when you listen in onto the question (as you can with recorded lectures), you realize the questions are generally inane or could be easily found on Google or in your textbook.

There's only two options to this behavior:
1. OCD
2. Sucking up (more face time with the professor)

I think self-centered and arrogant works well to describe you, my friend. Seriously, get over it.

 

[Just Joshin]

So a legitimate question would be this: Does the OP have a problem with people like me, by virtue of the fact that I consistently ask questions after class? Or am I in a separate category of people who don't ask stupid questions that would be easily answered by a Google search?

The OP specifically said he doesn't know what these people ask. For all he knows, they ask the exact type of questions you do. But it annoys him anyway. Honestly, I think some people are just miserable unless they're complaining about something and that's what the OP's problem is.

 

[Just Joshin]

I love how this thread started out being about the people who ask questions constantly, as if they'd feel like they left home without their cell phone if they left lecture without asking something, and a bunch of people (presumably the ones we're talking about....) chime in with all the reasons one might occasionally ask a legit question.... two different concepts.... one is annoying... one isn't.... I have no interest in trying to figure out why the one annoys me.... it just does and I'm fine with that. as I said earlier, it probably has something to do with knowing I'll have to work with these overly neurotic people sooner or later...

The fact that you don't see a correlation between how the thread started and what it progressed to, makes me wonder how you ever made it past verbal reasoning on the MCAT.

 

[Just Joshin]

I've learned 50,000 things in 2 years of medical school. 3 of them I found interesting. Different strokes.

That's pretty sad.

 

[Just Joshin]

I don't really ask questions in lecture because I need some time to understand the information and identify gaps, but if someone paid good tuition money and wants to ask questions without interrupting the class, who the hell cares?

People who have nothing better to do than to complain for the sake of complaining.

 

[Just Joshin]

Sigh, it's somewhat disappointing to have to write this, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out that pointing out that there are legitimate reasons for asking questions after lecture on a routine basis to an OP who expressed annoyance that people ask questions after lecture on a routine basis is not a strawman.

Rather, it is a case of subtly making the (arguably charitable) point that perhaps OP has better things to do with his/her time than worry what the hell other people do on their time.

You're wasting your time. If the poster knew what strawman meant, he wouldn't have made such a silly argument.

 

[MilkmanAl]

It's too bad this forum doesn't have a way to quote multiple posts all at once.

 

[redsquareblack]

It's too bad this forum doesn't have a way to quote multiple posts all at once.

 

[Just Joshin]

It's too bad this forum doesn't have a way to quote multiple posts all at once.

Why would anyone quote multiple posts all at once and deprive you of the opportunity to contribute to another thread with your stupid annoyances?

 

[cher25]

All I know is that I don't want to be rotating with any of those gunners.

Medicine is hard enough without these aholes sucking up to the professors at every opportunity with their inane questions that could be answered with 5 seconds of Google or the assigned textbook.

And it's ALWAYS the same 5 people. You even hear the same 5 people on the recorded lectures.

Why should they google it when they have the professor/expert that they paid $20 to 40K to be educated by?

Edit: now that I've read the entire thread, I see that my question is a reiteration.

 

[ArcGurren]

Why should they google it when they have the professor/expert that they paid $20 to 40K to be educated by?

Edit: now that I've read the entire thread, I see that my question is a reiteration.

Eh, I dunno if half the time I would call some of the professors "experts" on anything; many times they just rehearse a powerpoint once or twice before coming to the lecture, give it, and they're done. Then when people come up to ask them questions they're like "Um... dunno... send me an email".

Anyway... I have a much bigger problem with people asking questions during lecture as opposed to afterwards. There's always the one kid who does occasionally (and he doesn't much care about his reputation, which I sort of respect), but for the most part people wait till the lecture is over to do anything.

Are there suck-ups? Of course. There's also the one kid who goes to chat/sweet-talk the course director after every lecture in order to ingratiate himself and (occasionally) get hints as to what's on the exam. Is it unethical? Yes, but not technically against the rules. Nobody will respect that person, but if his goal is to get high grades, it doesn't really matter what people think of him.

It's very wrong to paint people with broad brush strokes; some people are slower at catching onto things or, yes, are unsatisfied with their fund of knowledge and have a neurosis which requires them to learn without stopping. Either way I stopped going to class during preclinical years so... no longer an issue.

 

[dr zaius]

 

[sideways]

That's pretty sad.

Sad? Hardly.

 

[dienekes88]

What?? You got something against people asking questions after class? I mean I can understand questions DURING class can interrupt the lecture time and sometimes sidetrack the entire lecture, BUT asking questions after lecture is fine with me.

How do you know that they haven't gotten to that material yet? You're right that there are certain people that will ask questions after EVERY lecture, but I still don't have any problems with that.

Who cares?

Most people in medical school apparently hate people with intellectual curiosity and/or work ethic. I've been called a gunner, because I don't actively try to avoid work and will do what I'm asked to do.

I have a classmate or two who make fun of me for reading about topics that interest me. Even at a pretty decent medical school, there is a vicious streak of anti-intellectualism. "Oh, you gonna do a literature search about that? Hohoho NERD!"

 

[redsquareblack]

Most people in medical school apparently hate people with intellectual curiosity and/or work ethic. I've been called a gunner, because I don't actively try to avoid work and will do what I'm asked to do.

I have a classmate or two who make fun of me for reading about topics that interest me. Even at a pretty decent medical school, there is a vicious streak of anti-intellectualism. "Oh, you gonna do a literature search about that? Hohoho NERD!"

Gunner.😉

 

[shadowfox87]

Most people in medical school apparently hate people with intellectual curiosity and/or work ethic. I've been called a gunner, because I don't actively try to avoid work and will do what I'm asked to do.

I have a classmate or two who make fun of me for reading about topics that interest me. Even at a pretty decent medical school, there is a vicious streak of anti-intellectualism. "Oh, you gonna do a literature search about that? Hohoho NERD!"

👍 Yea I know the feeling. One thing I don't understand is, if the lecture is OVER, why the hell are these people who DON'T have questions stay to observe the people who DO? I mean just go home, eat lunch, etc. rather than whine about in a thread.

 

[Just Joshin]

Sad? Hardly.

It is sad that out of two years of med school, you found only three things interesting. First year I can see, but even second year, you didn't have any of the pathology interesting or the clinical lectures or patient management lectures?

 

[Just Joshin]

👍 Yea I know the feeling. One thing I don't understand is, if the lecture is OVER, why the hell are these people who DON'T have questions stay to observe the people who DO? I mean just go home, eat lunch, etc. rather than whine about in a thread.

I completely agree with you! But at some schools, you stay in the same lecture hall for all your classes so if classes aren't over for the day, they may be there waiting for the next class to begin.

 

[ArcGurren]

Most people in medical school apparently hate people with intellectual curiosity and/or work ethic. I've been called a gunner, because I don't actively try to avoid work and will do what I'm asked to do.

I have a classmate or two who make fun of me for reading about topics that interest me. Even at a pretty decent medical school, there is a vicious streak of anti-intellectualism. "Oh, you gonna do a literature search about that? Hohoho NERD!"

I think your attitude towards others might be why you're called a gunner, buddy 😉

 

[shadowfox87]

I think your attitude towards others might be why you're called a gunner, buddy 😉

I'm surprised by the amount of people who don't know the definition of gunner. A gunner is a person that guns people down to get ahead e.g. saying wrong info on purpose or interrupting people before they answer. A person who works hard and avoids social contact is not a gunner, just a dude with a work ethic.

 

[sideways]

It is sad that out of two years of med school, you found only three things interesting. First year I can see, but even second year, you didn't have any of the pathology interesting or the clinical lectures or patient management lectures?

Some of it was mildly interesting. For the most part though, no, I hated it.

 

[bweber1lumc]

reminds me of this Twitter account i found:
https://twitter.com/#!/MedStudentProbl

 

[womp]

Most people in medical school apparently hate people with intellectual curiosity and/or work ethic. I've been called a gunner, because I don't actively try to avoid work and will do what I'm asked to do.

I have a classmate or two who make fun of me for reading about topics that interest me. Even at a pretty decent medical school, there is a vicious streak of anti-intellectualism. "Oh, you gonna do a literature search about that? Hohoho NERD!"

There's a big difference between intellectual curiosity and being a memorizing machine.

Guess what, being sociable and not sticking out like a sore thumb ("poor fit") is important when you get out of medical school. Medicine and life in general is not all about spending every waking hour memorizing minutia for a poorly written exam. That's not really intellectual curiosity. It's called being a drone. We pay people in China $1.50 an hour to do that, not exactly a value added trait.

 

[shadowfox87]

There's a big difference between intellectual curiosity and being a memorizing machine.

Guess what, being sociable and not sticking out like a sore thumb ("poor fit") is important when you get out of medical school. Medicine and life in general is not all about spending every waking hour memorizing minutia for a poorly written exam. That's not really intellectual curiosity. It's called being a drone. We pay people in China $1.50 an hour to do that, not exactly a value added trait.

You're kidding me if you can go through med school with 100% intellectual curiosity. The fact is that sometimes you DO have to be a memorizing machine because certain facts are just like that. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes and one has to suck it up and memorize extraneous facts even if they don't enjoy that information. Once you have the facts down, THEN you can appreciate the concepts and the practicality - that's where the curiosity comes in and then you start asking questions like why, how, if, etc.

How are you to assume that people who asks those questions don't have curiosity? Everyone asks questions, whether it's after class, office hours, or by email. After class is the easiest as you don't have to look up prof's email and wait for a response or get an office appointment. Whether those questions to YOU might be simple, but maybe to another student are not. Sucking up is pretty obvious and there's a big difference between that and just asking questions.

 

[UAAWolf]

Never fails...after every lecture, the same 5-10 people make a beeline for the podium to ask questions.

How can they have questions about material they haven't gotten to study yet? 😕

Why do you go to class....

 

[womp]

You're kidding me if you can go through med school with 100% intellectual curiosity. The fact is that sometimes you DO have to be a memorizing machine because certain facts are just like that. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes and one has to suck it up and memorize extraneous facts even if they don't enjoy that information. Once you have the facts down, THEN you can appreciate the concepts and the practicality - that's where the curiosity comes in and then you start asking questions like why, how, if, etc.

How are you to assume that people who asks those questions don't have curiosity? Everyone asks questions, whether it's after class, office hours, or by email. After class is the easiest as you don't have to look up prof's email and wait for a response or get an office appointment. Whether those questions to YOU might be simple, but maybe to another student are not. Sucking up is pretty obvious and there's a big difference between that and just asking questions.

wth

did I say anything about people asking questions lacking curiosity? all I said was that intellectual curiosity and memorizing minutia all day long are not exactly the same thing. And if work ethic alone was all that mattered, the Chinese would be 10x richer than the US. It does make you a gunner to think that "working hard = you're good at what you do." Is there a big correlation? Sure. But there's also a point when you get minuscule marginal returns at the cost of douchebaggery and alienating everyone around you. It doesn't mean your peers are worse doctors than you when they say no thanks to Q2.

 

[shadowfox87]

wth

did I say anything about people asking questions lacking curiosity? all I said was that intellectual curiosity and memorizing minutia all day long are not exactly the same thing. And if work ethic alone was all that mattered, the Chinese would be 10x richer than the US.

LOL, why are you putting Chinese into this? Completely unrelated. No, I get your point about mindless memorization vs applied thinking. My point, however, is that you need both. I hate memorization with a passion, but I can't say that you don't need it. Yes, I agree with you that work ethic is not the ONLY thing. Though, we're not exactly going to med school to develop our social skills - chatting with your friends is not exactly learning "bedside" manners. What people do in med school is their business, if they choose not to be social in med school, that doesn't mean that they will lack bedside manners when they get into the real world.

 

[ArcGurren]

I'm surprised by the amount of people who don't know the definition of gunner. A gunner is a person that guns people down to get ahead e.g. saying wrong info on purpose or interrupting people before they answer. A person who works hard and avoids social contact is not a gunner, just a dude with a work ethic.

Dude I know what a gunner is. It was a joke.

 

[Godric]

Tbh I am one of those question askers, and one of those people that just like to give my opinion if asked for it. I also try and answer every question, I think it helps me with learning. Sometimes I'll ask in lecture if its relevant because it will help me learn, and maybe other. And I am 90% sure some else sitting in the lecture hall will have the same question. When I ask after lecture its usually not related enough to the material talked about during class. Some of my friends ask questions for the sole purpose of having profs getting to know them. I am not 100% sure thats the best way, but it does work sometimes.

On a side note, in my first year psych 101, I was a curious little freshmen and I asked a ton of questions in class. My lecture hall was about 300 students, and this one time towards the end of the semester this random kid came up to me in the library and said to me "your the kid that asks like a million questions" .