download as PDF - Ditte Lyngkær Pedersen

“What a relief!” Michael interrupted. “You mean I’m normal?”
“Normal is such a relative term. Let’s just say that you’re a rare bird”, I suggested,
“different, but not unheard of.” (Cytowic, 1998: p.5)
Impossible questions or inexistent questions
What are they worth? There is no such term as “impossible questions”, but let
me henceforth define them as follows: Impossible questions are not those that
are incorrectly formulated and thus impossible to answer; or leading questions
that include their own answer, and thus bring about no real communication or
exchange between interlocutors.
Impossible questions are those that do not exist in general usage; they can be asked,
but they cannot be answered by anyone. In both written and spoken linguistic
formulations there are distinct agreements about how words must be arranged in
order to convey a clear meaning, otherwise one cannot expect an answer:
- Do you see the year?
- Are your year mostly in the same position? [sic, translator]
Or, in a Vichy Nouveau ad: Which flavor are you?
Impossible questions can sound child-like or idiotic, but they have their effect
and are often quite purposeful. They are a type of warm-up or instruction for
the person being asked.
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