Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with questions

What is asked in the 3rd step of a job interview?

beerbajay — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:06:17 -0800

I'm applying for a programming job. I've had two steps of interviewing so far. What are they going to ask in the 3rd step? This is for a firm which has historically done all of their development through contractors. The first interview was with a HR person and someone who seemed like they would be my direct superior; they asked mostly general personality-based questions (why do you live in this foreign country, would you work overtime, how do you want your coworkers and superiors to act). The second was a phone interview with a consultant who asked entirely technical questions. I have a scheduled third interview with the vice director of the firm on Monday. What would they possibly ask?

Questions to keep my students thinking.

CrazyLemonade — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:58:23 -0800

I want to show my students Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" video. I would also like to have them answer some questions about it, but I'm stuck. Some help? I teach a high school Human Relations course. This month we're going to be talking about topics like freedom, different ideas about the meaning of life and happiness, resilience, etc.

The lecture is so good that just watching it will probably get them thinking, but I'd like to give my students some critical thinking or discussion questions to answer after watching.

I'd be grateful for any ideas.

Academic Shibboleths

d. z. wang — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:18:55 -0800

A recent tomorrow was criticized for describing a mathematician as working with equations and "running the numbers". What are the canonical signs that someone doesn't know much about your field, or only picked up enough to make cocktail-party conversation? (categorized science and nature, but other disciplines welcome!) And, to take things to the next logical step, what kind of questions could an ignorant but curious person ask of you or a colleague that you would love to answer? For example, following a speech by Sarah Palin, several biology majors were just waiting for an excuse to tell me exactly how much money fruit flies deserved.

Good questions to ask my Bankruptcy Lawyer in the morning?

samuel1613 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:24:42 -0800

Questions to ask the bankruptcy lawyer in the morning to learn about the process AND to evaluate the lawyer's ability in bankruptcy. Sorry for the late question. I am visiting a bankruptcy lawyer in the morning. Without judging my circunstances, can you please give me good questions to ask to determine if this is the lawyer I should choose IF I do go down this path. What should I ask them about? Their experience? Their fees? Timeframes? Options? Please help as I know little about this process, and I would like to know if this is a good lawyer for this process. I already know all advise you provide is not legal advice, most of you are not lawyers, and I will take everything as simply friendly advise. Thank you for your help!

Your favorite interesting, specific question in philosophy

k. — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:54:11 -0800

Philosophy Filter: What are some fresh and interesting questions or topics in philosophy? I don't know if there are many philosophy nerds on MetaFilter (at least relative to other kinds of nerds), but I thought I'd give this a shot. I'm looking for topics that you wouldn't necessarily learn about in the usual undergraduate philosophy courses. I'd prefer these to be pretty specific, like these examples:

1. The "philosophy of information", which covers both the application of methods and ideas from computer science to philosophy and philosophical issues about what information is (especially in the work of Luciano Floridi)

2. Attacks on virtue ethics based on psychologists' claims that human character traits are much less stable than we think (summarized in e.g. the recent popular book Experiments in Ethics by K. Anthony Appiah)

More like these please! Really, any issue in philosophy that you find interesting would help. Bonus points for relevance to any timely issues outside of philosophy (in politics/society, science, etc).

Double Take

gensubuser — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:30:26 -0800

How ethical is it to look at previous years' exams? I know that some students have access to previous years' problem sets and use them to extreme benefit. We have been told that exam questions are often like previous years' questions, and have not received any instructions that any material is forbidden.

On the other hand, I assume acquiring the actual exam would be forbidden. What is ethical here? Alerting them to the availability is not an option.

What's the best way to spread an idea on the Internet?

BeReasonable — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:47:57 -0800

I have what I believe to be a clever idea that requires lots of other people to take action(s) for the idea to work and achieve the desired result. What/where/when/how is the best way to spread this idea the furthest on the Internet?

Help me pick the potential next Miss America

Thrillhouse — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:19:44 -0800

Need interesting questions for Miss America local pageant interview. I've judged several local pageants within the Miss American program but my question list has gotten a little stale. I need some new and interesting questions for the contestants for the interview portion. This isn't the on-stage interview so nothing cheesy. This is the real interview. They can be political (always fun), academic (within reason), social, religious, etc... ALMOST anything goes.

Be creative or even silly if the mood strikes you. Specifically I'd like some new trick questions that lead into integrity and honesty.

Thanks!!

Interrogate the Mystery Writers

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:50:19 -0800

I need questions to ask a panel of mystery writers, some of them cross-dressing. I will be the moderator of a panel of mystery writers at a convention. But the writers will be acting in character as their protagonists. My job is to ask questions that lead to fun answers and conversation among the writers (characters), entertain people in the audience, and allow the writers to make themselves look good, hence selling books.

Typically getting some interaction going is easy, because you can ask the writers all the same question (What do you think of CSI? or something), and get them to agree/disagree/discuss their differences.

But with everyone acting as characters in their books, I'm having trouble coming up with questions that will foster interaction among the panelists, since it doesn't make sense for them to be talking to each other about mystery writing--because in character, they're not all writers as they are in real life. But I don't want the panel to be just a set of questions that I ask each person independently-- I want to get some back and forth going.

The books are all lightly comic, and the characters will include:

- a young 1920's girl, a Scottish member of England's royal family who to avoid a bad marriage is living on her wits in London, and ends up accidentally involved in murders;

- a cat detective (not a detector of cats, but a cat who is a Private Eye) who solves mysteries in the tradition of Sam Spade

- a contemporary female English professor who gets accidentally mixed up in the murder investigation of a student;

- a contemporary older lady who pretends to be a crossword puzzle expert (she isn't one), and ends up solving mysteries.

Any questions at all are appreciated. I have some but need better ideas and a more robust list of questions...

Help me remember this Jewish saying

brenton — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:19:29 -0800

I vaguely remember a Jewish quip about the questions God asks a Rabbi at the end of his life. It is something like 1. Did you follow my commandments? (yes, all of them) 2. Did you study my Word well? (yes, every day) 3. Did you dance enough? Or something to that effect. Has anyone heard of this or know how it really goes?

LibraryFilter

bad grammar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:46:40 -0800

What questions do library users most often ask? I'm not asking about the library's FAQs (many library websites have them), but about your experience with actual questions, from both sides of the desk. Lest this be chatfilter, I'm getting an MLS and I'm trying to figure out how my future customers think.

Easy conversation prompts

gilsonal — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:01:06 -0800

I am looking for conversational topics/ questions that are relatively easy to answer, on topics that aren't too personal...help me come up with some! I'm working with a person who is very shy and has a hard time talking to others. To practice, we're going to start with some very simple questions, ideally not to personal or requiring much of an opinion, since those things are harder for him. I've looked up a lot of standard conversation starters online, but I'd like some of your ideas on cool/interesting questions to ask so that i don't feel like I'm interrogating him. Bonus points on being open ended, so that he can elaborate if he wants. Any questions you were asked that really started a great conversation?

I want to avoid the reverse of that Sigur Ros interview.

mkb — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:22:28 -0800

I have managed to book a phone interview with a somewhat famous Detroit techno group for a radio show. I have never interviewed anyone before beyond being on a job interview committee. What do I ask?

Spot the difference: interview edition

dragontail — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 08:44:40 -0800

I have to answer 2 questions in a forthcoming interview and they sound the same to me! Need help to spot the difference? The 2 questions are:

(a) How could you apply the skills and knowledge gained in your life so far to a placement at Company X?

(b) How could your knowledge and experience be used to help Company X?

What 2 things are they getting at here? Also, any quick pointers for this kinda thing?

Yes or No? Maybe Maybe!

Psychnic — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:56:51 -0800

I'm desperately seeking advice, for a friend. As a gift... Help me make a book of answers! I will be visiting a friend this Christmas, and I bought her a present. It's a small blank paper book and I started writing and drawing answers in it. Like a magic eight ball, opening the book of answers tells you what to do - or maybe not.

Problem is: There are 80 pages, and I have run out of answers. I need yours!

Here are some 'answers' I've come up with:
*Just do it!
*Follow your heart
*It can wait until tomorrow
*Alea Iacta Est
*With a little help from my friends

References to her interests - field hockey, arts, industrial design [her studies], quotes from people, movies or songs - are particularly welcome. Hidden meanings, clever observations, puzzling remarks, and double entendres would be wonderful!

How do I respond to the question(s) Are you currently employed? Why did you leave your last job?

ezekieldas — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:16:04 -0800

Are you currently employed? Why did you leave your last job? I am always working, busy with something but it may not be 9-5 with a corporate seal. When asked "are you working now?" by a potential employer do I deliver the script about consulting and assisting with projects, do I just say "yes" (and risk the violation of improper definition), or do I just say "no." If I have the ear of the nerds in my skill I can be more specific and say "...on a (part-time / consulting) project involving compilers" and turn it into a conversation.

Over time I've gathered the impression that one is at a severe disadvantage if they are looking without a current job. To avoid my resume getting filed under LEPERS - DO NOT CALL I leave the 2004-present on my resume until the year I left is over. If they ask directly I clarify. Unethical? Dangerous?

Why did you leave your last job? Because I was fired? I wanted to spend more time working on my vrschikasana? More time with family seems to work but for those of us single this is amongst our many disadvantages --it isn't entirely true or it violates the mainstream definition.

If only people were all fruit. Then you'd be able to fondle for freshness.

rileyray3000 — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:59:23 -0800

Is there a single question you can ask that tells you immediately (if not totally conclusively) whether someone is a good person? I've just found that lately my instinct meter for such things is off when I first meet people. It used to be solid. Now...less so. So is there some sort of first impression question you can ask that gives you some sort of real insight into the person you've met is more of a good person or less of one?

Re-apply to a previously declined job?

karizma — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:59:44 -0800

[Job Advice Filter] I applied and interviewed for an out-of-state job 8 months ago. Eventually I was offered the position, but I declined due to life circumstances that arose at the time. That same position is still open, and I'm interested. How should I proceed? 8 months ago I applied and interviewed for an IT position at a medium-sized state university that is located 800 miles from my current home. The university is located in a town/area I very much like. The town is small and the university is very likely the largest employer. As you might imagine, decent paying jobs in IT are hard to find there.

Several weeks to a month after the interview, the job was offered to me. Upon the time of offer, circumstances in my life had changed and I was not in a position to move and accept the job - so I declined it.

Recently I discovered that this very same position is still open and the university is accepting applications for it. I am now able to move and am motivated to do so.

How would you proceed in this situation?

Just a few additional notes:

- I have the hiring manager's contact information. I have met him once (at the interview).
- The hiring manager called me with the job offer, then sent an offer email. I replied to his email to decline the job. I never heard back anything from the hiring manager after that.
- The university in question handled all expenses (their choice) for the interview (plane/hotel/car) - a decent outlay of money - and after needing to decline the position I felt bad about that and now I worry that might make them feel negatively about me.
-The job is not my dream come true, but I can definitely live with it for as long as needed. The salary is decent given the area's size and cost of living. It would allow me to live and establish myself in an area I really enjoy.

How to best communicate the data about which I will later AskMefi?

vanoakenfold — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:11:37 -0800

Question-Asking-Filter: What would be the best way to ASK a question on AskMeFi that I want to ask? Pre-question question-answers within. So I'm sort-of asking it now, but I want to pose it again using the answer(s) this question reaps. So anyway.

I've got more than a hanfdul of wooden cubes stuck face-to-face together in oddball configurations that, together, form a mystery number of x-by-x-by-x cubes, that I made many years ago and have since forgotten the solutions. How should I present the spectrum of the piece configurations, in a text-based setting like Ask-Mefi?

(a) Is there a freeware PC/web-based program I could use to build a visual representation of them, take screenshots and post for MeFites to mentally assemble?

Would the question be too much to ask, considering I don't know how many x-by-x-by-x cubes the pieces actually form total?

(b) should I instead type out a series of..
XXX // XOX // XXX
XOX // OOX // XOX
XOX // XXX // XXX
..whereas O is the wood and X is absence of wood, for each piece?

I'm truthfully not even certain all of the available pieces are even present, given that I don't know their solution(s), but they were all found in a sealed baggie so I might presume they were the complete set(s).

Things I do know: some of the pieces are shorter in overall cube-length than the entire assmbled-cube's max width. I did make a 4x4x4 cube and a 5x5x5 cube at some point. I am the originator of the puzzle and the solution has not ever been posted on the web by me or anyone else to my knowledge (although the gnomes who often scamper about and hide my keys in random places may have at some point posted the solution). There are 25 pieces, with a maximum piece-length of no more than 5 cubes across.

The question though -- how I could I best communicate the configurations of these pieces, and perhaps secondarily, would anyone even bother answering it, and perhaps tertiarily, would providing a non-MeFi-based incentive for answering it encourage someone to answer it?

Getting the Best out of an interview with a prof

storybored — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 08:37:41 -0800

I'm going to be writing a profile of a business professor who has won some teaching awards. I'll be interviewing him on the phone. What questions should I ask that would help me raise the interview above the lame threshold? I'd like the profile to be insightful and interesting.

What questions should I ask the subjects of my documentary on the Philippines porn industry?

premiumpolar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:23:37 -0800

I'm going to be filming a documentary in the Philippines about families supported by the pornography industry, and I'd like to hear any interesting questions you might have for the subjects. All the families there are very impoverished, and the subjects range in age from 15 to 28, and are both male and female. I'd especially like to hear non-typical questions that might lead to poignant answers, not just, "why don't you just get another job?" (Although, if you have an interesting take on that question, let's hear it).

What would you like to know about them? What questions do you have that you'd like answered in the film?

Complete list of Trivial Pursuit questions online?

obiwanwasabi — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:29:29 -0800

Where can I find a complete list of questions from the Genus editions of Trivial Pursuit online? So apparently, some guy tried to sue the Trivial Pursuit people for using a bunch of questions from his trivia books, including errors and typos. The TP people argued in court that yes, they had used his stuff, but that 'facts are not protected by copyright'. They won.

So, I figure it must be legal to put up a list of all Trivial Pursuit questions, seeing as though they're apparently just 'facts'. Such a list would be great for quickly grouping trivia questions around a theme (eg, show me all the questions that contain the word 'dog'). Does such a list exist online?

How can I import and then tag a huge list of items?

mickmel — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 05:28:53 -0800

I have a list with hundreds of items. How can I import/tag them so that I can later view them by tag? Is there a site/software that can do this? We gave a web-based survey to our church and got about 2500 comments (along with the standard check-box answers). I'd like to tag each comment with various things ("steve", "volume", "organ") so then I can give the relevant comments to different people.

I picture it like tagging a WordPress post and then viewing a page with a list of items for that tag, but in a much simpler manner. Any good way to do that?

Help me make a list of questions for prospective Chicago landlords!

c:\awesome — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:17:50 -0800

I'm compiling a list of questions to ask prospective landlords when viewing their properties in Chicago next week. Help me make sure I'm asking everything I should be! Here's what I have so far:

-Total cost of monthly rent
-Is heat included?
-Pets allowed? (I have a cat)
-Can I install a satellite dish? (I have DirectTV)
-Central air conditioning?
-What's the laundry situation? (in unit, in building, free/coin-op?)

I see some apartments list "cable ready" -- does this mean some places aren't wired for cable? (In case I can't install a satellite, or decide to go with cable for Internet.)

What else am I missing?

FWIW, I'm moving from out-of-state and have only a few days to find a place. I'll be craigslisting/walking it for the first two days, then going to an apartment finder as a last resort. Budget: <$1200/m.

How do I politely (and possibly repeatedly) say "I don't know"?

forallmankind — Sat, 24 May 2008 13:27:03 -0800

I'll soon be training some new employees remotely via shared desktop + speakerphone (possibly + webcam). I/ we have never done this before, so if I'm put on the spot, what are good, different ways to deflect questions that I don't know the answer to whilst keeping my cool and not sounding like I'm clueless? Related to that - how do I deal with questions that are going to cause me to wander too far from the topic I'm teaching? Sure - I can say "that'll be covered next week", but how do I track these questions so that they don't get lost/ left unanswered? Do I just say "Why don't you shoot me an email about that" every single time?

Finally - what if something goes wrong: I come across an unforseen hurdle that stops my progress and requires a sharp change of tack. How do I graciously get out of that?