I think asking why is a great way to quickly find out if the person I'm talking to doesn't know what they're talking about (I'm thinking specifically of develop

I think asking why is a great way to quickly find out if the person I'm talking to doesn't know what they're talking about (I'm thinking specifically of developer discussions here). You don't have to be rude about it, there are plenty of ways to gently probe (feigning ignorance for example) but if it only takes a single "why" to get to some software "rule" or an immediate reference to a higher authority and nothing else, then you can move on with your day. If the conversation leads to specific examples, lessons learned or a deeper explanation then it can be a great learning experience.