That's a stupid resolution! 5 cents please. Seriously though, I prefer to go Socratic when I disagree on a technical question. I don't want to prove to myself

That's a stupid resolution! 5 cents please. Seriously though, I prefer to go Socratic when I disagree on a technical question. I don't want to prove to myself or anyone else that I'm right. I do want to draw someone else into my way of thinking. If my partner in argument manages to answer the questions I thought were subtle and revealing, maybe my understanding was incomplete. In that case, I should have been asking questions all along anyway. Depending on how sarcastic your questions sound at the beginning, you can probably change stance from know-it-all to ignoramus without anyone noticing. If a problem has a settled answer in the public record, send a link. Not everyone considers the same sources authoritative, though.