---
title: "Reply to: Why Am I Doing the Thinking for You?"
url: https://perrotta.dev/2026/02/reply-to-why-am-i-doing-the-thinking-for-you/
last_updated: 2026-02-22
---


> I got a Slack message the other week, just "What do you think?" with a link to
> a Notion document.
>
> No context or indication of what this person actually believed. Just a link
> and a question mark.
>
> I stared at it for a minute, trying to decide if I was annoyed or just tired
> (both, probably).
>
> What's this message is actually saying is: "I haven't figured this out yet and
> I'd like you to do the thinking for me."
>
> That sounds harsh, but it's true. When you ask someone "what do you think?"
> without sharing what you think, you're not collaborating, but more like
> outsourcing? You're taking all the work you should have done (reading and
> understanding the doc, weighing the trade-offs, forming an opinion) and
> dumping it on someone else's lap.
>
> It looks like a question, but it's more like a task assignment.
>
> [...]

I must concur with this.

Throughout my university years I've been slowly shaped to adopt this ethos, via
[The Arch Way](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_terminology#The_Arch_Way).

It's good character to upfront your interlocutor with just enough context to get
them unblocked for whatever purpose or outcome you're striving to achieve.