There’s a debate that has raged in my mind for the past couple of weeks, and it goes something like this. It’s simple, yet difficult to make an absolute resolution.
What is stronger? A question or an answer?
Questions and answers are two of the most powerful forces in the universe. Each has their respective strengths, making monumental strides that directly or indirectly impact our lives. The range of thoughts and emotions that are triggered as a result of both of these, and it would take the life’s work of many to even try to comprehend it. 
To expound on this even further, let’s look at each one separately. A question contains all sorts of powers. It’s the initiative. An exploration. Rules, principles, and answers that have governed this world have been broken and shattered due to a singular question. For thousands of years, Earth was the center of the universe. That was the answer. But questions from men like Galileo and Copernicus altered the way we view our universe and ourselves. Even leaving this grandiose scale, questions serve as life altering events on a more personal level.
“Do you accept the job?”
“How much?”
“Will you marry me?”
“What would you like, sir?”
“What would you like, miss?”
“Are you happy?”
All of the questions have one thing in common: they move us beyond where we once were. This world, and our lives, would become stagnate, routine, and, worst of all, without purpose if there were no questions. They are this way for better or for worse, though, as questions can either inspire the recipient or fill their minds with terror. Questions mean change; change is what defines you and me.
On the other end of the spectrum are answers. As powerful as questions are, they will always be subject to answers. Questions are wild stallions, with the freedom and will to do whatsoever the please; answers are what breaks them in. Answers bring order and cosmos in what would otherwise be an abrupt and chaotic universe. When people believe they have found their purpose, answers infuse solidarity and confidence into that purpose.
But it is a paradoxical confidence. For as powerful as answers may be, they have one flaw that prevents them from being the ultimate power: answers can never remain the same. Thousands of years ago, when sailors and astronomers were asked the purpose of stars, they would say the gods placed them there for guidance and that they were, in fact, the gods themselves, watching over the fate of mankind. In this modern era, the answer is that stars are gaseous fireballs that provide gravitational force fields that keep planets and other heavenly bodies from going awry.
Questions are tamed due to…answers. Answers change because of…questions.
These checks and balances make it difficult to ascertain which of the two has leverage over the other. Both have magnanimous powers; both have limitations. Questions create; answers utilize. Questions give us the desire to explore; answers give us the desire to rest. Questions spark a fire in our hearts; answers provides warmth to our souls. Questions have the power to inspire; answers have the power to heal.
It would seem that one is the beginning and one is the end. But clearly the end is simply a catalyst for the beginning, vice versa. So maybe this is one of universe’s ultimate ironies. The antidote to power is change. Questions and answers are powerful forces, but they only maintain their power because they are subject to change. Will we ever know all the questions and answers there is to know? I believe if anything has the capability to achieve this, it’s the human race. However, the human race also has the capacity to ruin and destroy all that’s ever been known. Time will tell.
once again, you blow me away!