You can often avoid asking the &quot;why&quot; question explicitly. If you instead ask about the unintended consequences of the current policy, people will elaborate on the reasons why the situation is undesired, without you asking for it.<p>For example, in the third question of the article you could ask &quot;Is this the usual level of lubrication?&quot; and you will reach the same conclusion of &quot;No, the oil pump on the robot is circulating less oil than normal.&quot;