I disagree. Asking questions is most often a way of challenging something. For example, in the lecture hall example the students thought they understood the gu

I disagree. Asking questions is most often a way of challenging something. For example, in the lecture hall example the students thought they understood the guest lecture and the only person to ask a genuine question was the tenured professor. The way I interpreted it was that the students accepted their understanding of the subject as "good enough" while the professor wanted to be 100% certain he understood the subject correctly. The professor challenged his own understanding.