I am a huge Quora fan and not a day goes by without a really intriguing question being asked and answered on the site. People use the site to ask the questions they have always wanted to ask, and both experts and ordinary people pitch in with answers. Even celebrities such as Jimmy Wales and Stephen Fry regularly visit and give their opinions on questions they feel qualified to answer (Wales being the person most people want to direct a question to).
I thought it would be a good idea if occasionally I highlighted a few of these great questions and perhaps one of the answers that I thought was the best.
In this way, I hope I will illustrate to any of you, who are currently not Quora users, that the site is worth visiting on a regular basis, and perhaps even signing up for to ask your own questions and give your own answers. Quora is the latest and greatest site in social media, and should not be missed if social media is your forte.
In most cases, the best answers are the longest ones. So for the sake of brevity, I have edited the answers to the best parts.
What are some things that cops know, but most people don’t?
- Even though you say differently, you probably don’t know your rights.
- You can’t talk your way out of a ticket. Lots of people talk themselves into one.
- Of course it went off. What did you expect would happen when you pulled the trigger?
- We know you had more than two beers.
- Yes, you do pay my salary. I’d be happy to give you a refund. Do you have change for a penny?
- The gun isn’t to protect you. It is to protect me.
- I don’t especially care what your race, religion, sexual preference, ethnicity, political affiliation or economic status is. I do have a bias against assholes.
- Can anyone here point out this person’s parents? He just asked me if I knew who his father was, and I don’t.
- Please press firmly, you are making four copies.
- Yes, you very well may see me in court. I get paid overtime to be there, win or lose.
What is it like to be the defense attorney of someone you strongly believe to have committed the crime?
I am a criminal defense attorney and as a general proposition, I believe the following things which taken together make it not a problem for me to represent someone who committed a crime.
- It really is better that ten guilty men go free than that one innocent man get convicted. We will only keep the conviction of innocent men to a minimum if we are ok with guilty people getting a zealous defense such that some guilty men go free. Basically, I am just doing my job, which is a job which must be done, if the system is to function well.
- People who commit crimes will commit other crimes and can be fairly punished for other crimes at another time.
- It may seem convenient to many people, to think that they are morally superior to the “scumbag” defendant. However, if I take that posture, it doesn’t make anything easier for me.
- I do not assume that the world can be a perfect place. If I do my duty, I trust that the world will be a better place, and I can feel good about how I spent my workday.
- There can be no well-functioning rule of law without defense attorneys. If there is no well-functioning rule of law, then we have all kinds of terrible things going on, which may be even worse than guilty men going free.
- As for the question of how I feel when I get a “not guilty” verdict for a guilty man, it depends on the situation. Sometimes, I feel like I did a good job, sometimes I just got lucky, and sometimes somebody else failed to do their job well.
What is the biggest heist you ever pulled or tried to pull off?
This is a question with many interesting answers, but too long to replicate here. Personally I like Murat Morrison’s account, but there are many other good ones.
How does it feel to attempt suicide?
Again lots of great and insightful answers, many of them too long to repeat here. The best one is from Anonymous. But the others are well worth a read.
What great questions have you found on Quora lately?