answer:I tend to power my way through my inherent shyness with a disregard for tact or self-preservation. Sometimes it’s because I figure that I will look like an idiot either way and have nothing to lose by asking, but more often is it just not caring what others think. In my case though, it’s less a matter of active lack of concern and more a matter of just being genuinely oblivious to that sort of thing much of the time. (Aspergers has it’s upsides.) I am not courageous; courage is acknowledging danger and overcoming your fear of it. But what danger is there in asking a question? Often, it’s more dangerous to not know the answer you seek. There are times where I have a brain fart at work, forget something I know I know but can’t recall, and say to my boss, “I have a stupid question…”. Trust me, that hurts less than having a $100,000 machine shoot sharp pieces of metal around the room as it self-destructs (a possible consequence of not asking a “stupid” question). Remember, we all do and say stupid things. As long as you learn something from them though, you are not actually stupid, and thus have no reason to feel stupid.