---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My rule in making up examination…"
description: "\"My rule in making up examination questions is to ask questions which I can't myself answer. It astounds me to see how some of my students answer questi..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/726/henry-adams-1542_answers_my-rule-in-making-up-examination-questio_734562.png"
---

#  My rule in making up examination questions is to ask…

![“My rule in making up examination questions is to ask questions which I can't myself answer. It astounds me to see how some of my students answer questions which would play the deuce with me.” quote by Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/726/henry-adams-1542_answers_my-rule-in-making-up-examination-questio_734562.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/726/henry-adams-1542_answers_my-rule-in-making-up-examination-questio_734562.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/726/henry-adams-1542_answers_my-rule-in-making-up-examination-questio_734562.png)

> “My rule in making up examination questions is to ask questions which I can't myself answer. It astounds me to see how some of my students answer questions which would play the deuce with me.”

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He creates questions he cannot answer to challenge himself and expose student limits.

**In simple terms:** Ask unanswerable questions to test knowledge.

Key Takeaway

Embrace uncertainty in teaching.

Themes

education humility challenge

Mood

reflective inquisitive

Type

pedagogical philosophical

When to use this quote

- classroom discussions
- exam design
- research seminars
- peer review

Key Concepts

self-awareness critical thinking

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance difficulty and fairness?
- What benefits arise from unknown unknowns?

A Different Perspective

May discourage students if overused.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Deuces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deuces/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Questions and answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions-and-answers/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/)

## Related quotes

> [“I always ask my students to answer two questions about the work they and their peers have written: What happened in this story? and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-always-ask-my-students-to-answer-two-questions-about-the-work-they/)

[Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/)

> [We have a word game in English called "Twenty questions." To play Twenty Questions, one player imagines some object, and the other players must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barry-sharpless/we-have-a-word-game-in-english-called-twenty-questions-to-play-twenty/)

Karl Barry Sharpless

> [Guys have been having a lot of questions about whether or not I can play man-to-man, so I've been watching a lot of film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-pryor/guys-have-been-having-a-lot-of-questions-about-whether-or-not-i-can/)

[Calvin Pryor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-pryor/)

> [If this is the last time, let me say it so you never forget. I will always love you, Deuce. No matter where souls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/if-this-is-the-last-time-let-me-say-it-so-you-never-forget-i-will/)

[Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/)

> [You dropped a 500-seat deuce on Times Square.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/you-dropped-a-500-seat-deuce-on-times-square/)

[Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/)

> [Then idiots talk…of Energy. If there is a word in the dictionary under any letter from A to Z that I abominate, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/then-idiots-talk-of-energy-if-there-is-a-word-in-the-dictionary-under/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [I'm not sick, Deuce. You don't know your own charm." My charm? I hadn't been aware I had any. It must be the dress,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/i-m-not-sick-deuce-you-don-t-know-your-own-charm-my-charm-i-hadn-t/)

[Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/)

> [You know what yo, you a bitch, you should have a travel agent, cause you a trip, you should make your own toilet tissue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/you-know-what-yo-you-a-bitch-you-should-have-a-travel-agent-cause-you/)

[Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/)

> [I Let Her Meet My Mama And Gave Her All Of Me She Had So Many Secrets They We're as Tall As Me..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeezy/i-let-her-meet-my-mama-and-gave-her-all-of-me-she-had-so-many-secrets/)

Aeezy

> [I am Nicki Minaj, I mack them dudes up Back coupes up &amp; chunk the deuce up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/i-am-nicki-minaj-i-mack-them-dudes-up-back-coupes-up-chunk-the-deuce/)

[Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/)

> [For me, a writer is already being the deuce of his mission, his occupation to society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/for-me-a-writer-is-already-being-the-deuce-of-his-mission-his/)

[Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/)

> [Always be comic in a tragedy. What the deuce else can you do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-be-comic-in-a-tragedy-what-the-deuce-else-can-you-do/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [And that was the way The deuce was to pay As it always is, at the close of the day That gave us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-carleton/and-that-was-the-way-the-deuce-was-to-pay-as-it-always-is-at-the/)

[Will Carleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-carleton/)

> [What the deuce is it to me?" he interrupted impatiently: "you say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/what-the-deuce-is-it-to-me-he-interrupted-impatiently-you-say-that-we/)

[Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/)

> [TRIPPIN My Ghee for life yo.. no hattin Deuces &lt;3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-jane/trippin-my-ghee-for-life-yo-no-hattin-deuces-3/)

[Alice Jane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jane/)

## More by Henry Adams

> [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [“One had heard and read a great deal about death, and even seen a little of it, and knew by heart the thousand commonplaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/one-had-heard-and-read-a-great-deal-about-death-and-even-seen-a/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/chaos-often-breeds-life-when-order-breeds-habit/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [The chief wonder of education is that it does not ruin everybody concerned in it, teachers and taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-chief-wonder-of-education-is-that-it-does-not-ruin-everybody/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [The American President resembles the commander of a ship at sea. He must have a helm to grasp, a course to steer, a port…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-american-president-resembles-the-commander-of-a-ship-at-sea-he/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [The proof that a philosopher does not know what he is talking about is apt to sadden his followers before it reacts on himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-proof-that-a-philosopher-does-not-know-what-he-is-talking-about/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [No man should be in politics unless he would honestly rather not be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/no-man-should-be-in-politics-unless-he-would-honestly-rather-not-be/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [In the history of the United States, there is no continuity at all. You can cut through it anywhere and nothing on this side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/in-the-history-of-the-united-states-there-is-no-continuity-at-all-you/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [“Washington was no politician as we understand the word," replied Ratcliffe abruptly. "He stood outside of politics. The thing couldn't be done today. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/washington-was-no-politician-as-we-understand-the-word-replied/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [Power when wielded by abnormal energy is the most serious of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/power-when-wielded-by-abnormal-energy-is-the-most-serious-of-facts/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [If I grapple with sin in my own strength, the devil knows he may go to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/if-i-grapple-with-sin-in-my-own-strength-the-devil-knows-he-may-go-to/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [All State education is a sort of dynamo machine for polarizing the popular mind; for turning and holding its lines of force in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/all-state-education-is-a-sort-of-dynamo-machine-for-polarizing-the/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [You may cut off the heads of every rich man now living--of every statesman--every literary, and every scientific authority, without in the least changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/you-may-cut-off-the-heads-of-every-rich-man-now-living-of-every/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [History is the most aristocratic of all literary pursuits, because it obliges the historian to be rich as well as educated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/history-is-the-most-aristocratic-of-all-literary-pursuits-because-it/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [The philosopher says--I am, and the church scouts his philosophy. She answers:--No! you are NOT, you have no existence of your own. You were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-philosopher-says-i-am-and-the-church-scouts-his-philosophy-she/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

[Explore all 230 Henry Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

## More Answers quotes

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/)

[Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/)

[Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/)

> [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/)

[Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/)

> [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/)

[Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/)

> [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/)

[Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/)

> [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/)

[Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/)

> [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/)

[Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/)

> [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/)

[Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/)

Browse all 7,843 Answers quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "My rule in making up examination questions is to ask questions which I can't myself answer. It astounds me to see how some of my students answer questions which would play the deuce with me.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Henry Adams"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/my-rule-in-making-up-examination-questions-is-to-ask-questions-which/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Answers"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/my-rule-in-making-up-examination-questions-is-to-ask-questions-which/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/726/henry-adams-1542_answers_my-rule-in-making-up-examination-questio_734562.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/726/henry-adams-1542_answers_my-rule-in-making-up-examination-questio_734562.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/726/henry-adams-1542_answers_my-rule-in-making-up-examination-questio_734562.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“My rule in making up examination questions is to ask questions which I can't myself answer. It astounds me…” — Henry Adams",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Henry Adams",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "My rule in making up examination...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/my-rule-in-making-up-examination-questions-is-to-ask-questions-which/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/my-rule-in-making-up-examination-questions-is-to-ask-questions-which/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
