During the first few years of my academic career, I’d begin the first class of each semester with the same cliché remark: “There are no dumb questions in this class. If you don’t understand something, raise your hand and ask.” My purpose was to comfort the students. But the remark had the opposite effect. In classes where I underscored the absence of dumb questions, I noticed that students were more reluctant to raise their hands. In hindsight, this was understandable. When the Presi...
