[jrochkind1]

> People are more likely to tell you about how they think something works when they are correcting you than when you ask directly for help. No clue why that's a thing, but it is.

While some of that might just be people's enjoyment at telling other people they're wrong, I think it's actually often something else. It's just easier to _respond_ to something than it is to start with a blank slate.

The question "How does this work?" is a blank slate. Even when asking it for yourself about a gigantic new codebaes, you form hypotheses and then 'test' them in some way, as you say, "testing conclusions". When you give someone a theory, you've just given _them_ a 'conclusion' they can 'test' against their own domain knowledge. :)