What I&#x27;ve found works is to <i>not</i> directly answer maddeningly vague questions, but instead to either ask for nitpicky clarification or to give a very precisely-worded statement that answers the question they probably should have asked.<p>I&#x27;ll use a question from the article as an example: &quot;Are you absolutely sure that you will not hurt yourself today?&quot; Now, this is obviously a silly question and what they really ought to want to know is the probability that you&#x27;ll hurt yourself today or in the near future, so the answer, rather than yes or no, ought to be something like &quot;I have not deliberately hurt myself before, and consider it very unlikely that I will do so in the near or medium-term future.&quot; Accompany this with a head-shake in case they don&#x27;t understand what you said.<p>Not only does this prevent wacky misunderstandings, but it also acts as a shibboleth, telling the more precise-minded doctors that they can converse more naturally with you. This is a great blessing when it happens.