| From information perspective we are looking at two pieces of information: the request itself, and the answer. The answer contains just 1 bit of information, yes or no. The request carries much more information. Did you chose me specifically from all my colleagues for this request? This informs me about you and how you operate. Did you wait until a specific moment to make this request? This informs me about you and how you operate. Did you attach special conditions to your request? Did you formulate it like it's nothing, when in fact it is a big deal? Etc. The Askers think there is no information in the request itself and its specific formulation, and just care about the 1 bit of information in the answer. They also believe that the request-answer is a stateless transaction, i.e. that nothing gets memorized, or changes the environment going forward. The Guessers are the opposite, are very careful with what the information disclosed in the request itself can do to the environment, the people, and the relationship going forward. "You could've just said no" is what Askers say when they want to say: please ignore all the information in my request. Example: You are a friend who often scratches/dings his car, has occasional accident, etc. and you ask me to loan you my car, which I saved a lot for, restored old model, etc. I will say, NO. But I also learned something about you, that besides being careless you are also not self-aware, so I will take that into consideration going forward. |