Project Gutenberg 2010-10-11 Public domain in the USA. 337 Sheckley, Robert 1928 2005 Barbee, Phillips Lang, Ned O'Donnevan, Finn Barbee, Phillip Ask a Foolish Question Produced Science Fiction Stories 1953. Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Ask a Foolish Question" by Robert Sheckley is a science fiction story written during the early 1950s. The narrative explores the philosophical implications of knowledge and inquiry through a central entity known as the Answerer, designed to provide answers to any question posed by the beings of the universe. The story raises intriguing questions about the nature of knowledge itself, highlighting how the formulation of a question can heavily influence the response received. In the tale, two central characters, Morran and Lingman, embark on a quest to find the Answerer, desperately seeking the ultimate truths about life and death. Meanwhile, a variety of other beings also seek answers to their own existential questions. However, when they finally confront the Answerer, they discover that their inquiries often lack the depth necessary to receive meaningful responses. The Answerer, while possessing vast knowledge, can only respond to questions that are framed correctly, exposing the limitations of the questioners' understanding. The story concludes with a poignant realization that without a foundational understanding, the questions posed will inevitably fail to reveal the profound truths they seek, emphasizing the complex relationship between knowledge, inquiry, and comprehension. (This is an automatically generated summary.) http://book.klll.cc/files/33854/33854-h/images/cover.jpg Reading ease score: 78.8 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Questions and answers -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Philosophy & Ethics 44725 2025-08-14T03:47:16.196178 text/html 40855 2010-10-11T12:01:04 text/html 195232 2025-08-14T03:47:17.896177 application/epub+zip 194064 2025-08-14T03:47:16.579194 application/epub+zip 75678 2025-08-14T03:47:16.390196 application/epub+zip 229736 2025-08-14T03:47:19.082175 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 222352 2025-08-14T03:47:17.708172 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 104819 2022-09-15T12:12:25.264727 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 37697 2025-08-14T03:47:16.061190 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 37536 2010-10-11T12:01:04 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19423 2025-08-14T03:47:19.212172 application/rdf+xml 26660 2025-08-14T03:47:16.461179 image/jpeg 4424 2025-08-14T03:47:16.425194 image/jpeg 197371 2010-10-11T12:01:04 application/octet-stream application/zip 13824 2010-10-11T12:01:04 application/octet-stream application/zip 202637 2025-08-14T03:47:16.218205 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia