Ask yourself!

When I search for the exact question that you just asked - I find:

• Why do "Quorans" continuously post the same question over and over again, even though there is an answer thread already started for that question?
• Why do we keep asking the same question even though we already saw the answer or we've been told the right answer?
• Why does Quora have so many redundant questions? These questions are usually about subjects with easily available answers, yet come up again and again despite having been answered adequately.

…and many, MANY more.

Get the idea?

Quora specifically asks you to check whether the question has already been asked - but most people don’t do that…and EVEN YOU DIDN’T DO IT!!

So ask yourself - why did YOU ask this question even though it comes up again and again with good answers?

We are a young nation with lots of resources and a somewhat perverted idea that other nations are backwards, inferior, etc.

The term would be “American Exceptionalism”. It has interesting roots and has evolved over time. I hate to use a Wiki link but it sums it up fairly well.

American exceptionalism - Wikipedia

In my mind, this propensity is akin to young folks who feel invincible, that their elders are wrong headed and backwards simply because they haven’t experienced enough of life to know any better.

Basically, we’re testosterone filled, cocky idgits with a whole lot going for us at the present time. We’ll see how it turns out in the end.

I think the arrogance and bravado is unfounded. Sure, we’ve done some neat shit but we’re still in diapers compared to many other cultures.

Just look upon us as an interesting insect in the larval stage and see what we grow into. That’s what I do and I grew up here.

Cheers!

I offer five reasons.

1. Some questions come from immature minors asking about homework, personal relationships, or future employment. Those questions are not ridiculous, but the fact that they are asked on Quora is.
2. Some topics naturally command a huge following. Any sort of question from that topic, however ridiculous, will generate thousands of views and a large number of upvotes. Asking questions in those topics feeds the deep desire of some Quorans to be “important”. In effect, thanks to the unneeded stats function on the site, those Quorans are working to build a cult of personality for themselves by asking ridiculous questions on the “right” topic.
3. Some Quorans are smart, but they have poor English language ability. I am not referring to grammar and spelling. The issue is the failure to understand the nuances of English, some of which impact the quality of a question.
4. Some Quoran’s troll to incite a rude discussion akin to a shouting match. They are like arsonists who start house fires only for the purpose of watching the fire trucks arrive at the fire.
5. Some Quorans are dim. That’s okay. This is a learning and discovery site and in my interpretation of Quora’s mission, everyone is invited to read the answers, but not everyone can sensibly contribute questions and answers. When you do not have anything intelligent to say or ask, it is better just to read the answers.

“Why do Quora questions get asked a million times?”

I think the fundamental reason is, Only newly asked questions get put in our feeds. If you ask a question, lots of people view it. Some of them write answers. You have stimulated new activity. If a lot of us write new versions of our old answers, you’ve stimulated a lot of (repetitious) activity.

Imagine if, instead, you diligently search until you’ve found a dozen equivalent questions that have already been asked. Maybe you read all the answers already written to all those questions. Maybe you find some answers that completely satisfy you. Quora has done their job of spreading knowledge. But each of those answers you’ve read has just added a single view. No new answers have been written. There’s not much new activity. And you are the only one who has learned something new.

If Quora wanted they could develop a much better algorithm for identifying equivalent existing questions. When you asked your question, Quora could direct you to the best old version of the question. And Quora could put that question into people’s feeds, just as if it were a new question. Because there was new interest in the question (your interest). There wouldn’t be a lot of repeat answers. Thee wouldn’t appear to be as much activity. But all the people who saw the question might learn something from its answers. I think that might be better.

I know, right?

It's a cheap rhetorical trick to fool people into accepting the framing of, and implicit premises of, the question.

Questions such as these are not asked out of curiosity. They represent an attempt to persuade and proselytize to the readers of the question. The appropriate response to such a question is to downvote and ignore the question. Just do everyone a favor and rise above it. Don't feed the trolls!

Some examples:

• “Do you still beat your wife?” This kind of thing is strictly forbidden in courts of law, and is known as badgering the witness. The prosecution here is clearly trying to convince the jury of their point of view, rather than trying to learn actual information from the witness. Can you think of any Quorans who ask badgering questions?
• “Why can't liberals/conservatives/whoever understand X?” Come on, questioner. Obviously they do understand X, but disagree with you about X. You know that. Everyone knows that you know that. You're not fooling anyone here. It's so easy to rephrase these questions in a neutral way as “What are your views on X?” But people don't want an actual, honest debate. Oh no, we're only interested in proclaiming allegiance to a certain ideology and turning our aggression and condescension on everyone else. It's toxic to the marketplace of ideas and we need to do our part to never participate in this.
• If [premise that I disagree with], then why doesn't [ridiculous straw man conclusion that everyone disagrees with]? Example: “If evolution is true, then why aren't there crocoducks?” Please. Everyone. Understand what a Straw man argument is and always vow to represent your opponent's viewpoint at least as well as they would represent it themselves. When you see questions or answers attacking various straw men, call this behavior out instead of joining the stupidity. Yes, even if it's on your side.

This has been a public service announcement. Remember people, downvote and ignore. Make Quora better for everyone by filtering out the garbage instead of giving it the attention it craves. Whatever you do please don't add garbage. Even posting sarcastic responses is not the right thing to do. Act as a moderator and frankly point out what's wrong with the thread.

Consider it a compliment, or an act of desperation, or both. Of all the people to whom this question could be posed, and all the venues in which it might be asked, the shy and desperate and naive and lonely and confused and heartbroken person has chosen to trust the collective known as Quora with their question.

Trolls notwithstanding, if the OP knew their question was "daft," they wouldn't have asked it publicly. If they had a trusted friend, mentor, sibling or guru, they would have gone to that person for their answer. But instead, they come to us with the burning issue of this moment in their life.

I'll be 65 in a few months, and I've asked (tens of) thousands of daft questions - in every venue at my disposal - for one single reason: I needed an answer, preferably one I wanted to hear, and I could think of no one else to ask. So it is with the Quarans who ask "how to get him back," or "why people hurt them," or "what to do next in their life." They need an answer, and we are their court of last (or first) resort. Twaddle and FaceTube are useless for these people, but the people on Quara are smart, so maybe one of them will have an answer.

All this presents a dilemma, because I want to answer "LMGTFY," or "They hurt you because they could," or "You can't get him/her back, and why would you want to?" But then I remember past confusion, pain, and heartbreak - in a pre-internet, pre-mobile phone wasteland - and the kid gloves come out, if only to soften the blow of the truth.

If nothing else, I can let them know that they are neither the first nor last to ask such an inane question. Perhaps, if I tell them my "best ideas" when faced with a similar quandary, I can spare them the consequences of my solutions, and give them two types of comfort: a sense that they are not alone, and a chance to laugh.

Of course I can also just ignore the daft questions, in search of an opportunity to display my wit and wisdom.

Alas, the word 'iconic' has become a synonym for 'easily recognisable', and lost most of its original meaning.

There is a brilliant piece, originally in the Economist 'Intelligent Life' magazine, that is well worth a read.

The word “iconic”, once used sparingly, is now everywhere. Jonathan Meadestraces its path from Jesus to Marmite, via Hitler, Stalin and stadium rock, and works out what it says about us ...

http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/adjective-age

The modern usage is, in my view, to be deplored. I am upvoting answers to 'What is the most iconic X' that actually contain some iconography - so a Yellow Checker Taxi is a good icon for New York, but Phil Marlow's hat, while famous, doesn't actually symbolise anything beyond Phil Marlow's hat...

While “a million times” might be a bit of an exaggeration, I know what you mean.

I think there are three main reasons:

1. Quora’s search function is, to put it politely, “inadequate.” Many times, if someone is considering asking a question, and searches to make sure it hasn’t been already asked, the search results are not “helpful.”
2. People don’t bother (or don’t care) to look at the suggestions that pop up when they begin writing their question. For example, I just clicked on the “Ask Question” tab, and started typing in the first question that popped into my head, “What famous people where born the same day as you?” Before I even finished typing the question, I saw that there were at least a dozen questions already asked on the same theme.
3. People are not asking sincere questions, either because they are trolling, or because they’re trying to accumulate pennies via the Quora Partner Program.

My vote is #3.

Glad that this is not itself a 'best' or 'most' question for a superlative solution. I find these questions a bit of a put-down, lacking context for straight answers to be useful, and inviting debate of what is best instead of encouraging exploration of multiple valid options.

The social Q&A site Aardvark http://vark.com encouraged 'best' questions, and it prompted me to precede many answers with a disclaimer like this is just my experience or opinion; finally giving up answering Aardvark at all. There were other reasons, like not finding a simple way to track all my answers for a blog summary or the like.

As Anon User said, best is determined by the users of the site, or the readers of the answers. If you like to answer best questions, go right ahead. That said, I find it more inviting to answer non-superlative questions like:

What is a good ...? or How would you ...? or Why ...?