I have found that asking "stupid questions" in the form of "I don't understand X, can you explain it to me?" is very valuable, as it forces people to agree on a

I have found that asking "stupid questions" in the form of "I don't understand X, can you explain it to me?" is very valuable, as it forces people to agree on a common interpretation of an issue. In fact, most technical discussions are more about gaining a common understanding of an issue than about a solution. Once everyone has the same understanding of a given problem, the solution space becomes much clearer.