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This is something I have noticed on a fairly regular basis, and this is a recent example, where the questioner starts by saying "I'm working on" and ends up asking "How do we...?"

Can someone help me with this circuitry? I am not an electrical engineer. I'm working on a brain/organoid computer interface system . . .

How do we connect the cyclone . . .

Is it some cultural thing? Is there a mechanism to it, like that if others are included they feel more inclined to help?

Weather Vane
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MiNiMe
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    "I am working on..." means the writer is personally doing that. "How do we..." asks about the practice of electrical engineers in general. – Weather Vane Nov 10 '23 at 23:31
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    Possibly in the first paragraph the person is introducing themselves for the purpose of this communication ("I (the person writing this) am working on...) but then in the second paragraph switches to "we" because there are many people actually trying to connect the cyclone. "How do we (the people trying to complete the project) ..." – DJClayworth Nov 11 '23 at 00:40
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    Possibly relevant: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/590018/why-do-indian-people-usually-ask-questions-in-english-using-the-first-person-plu – alphabet Nov 11 '23 at 02:31
  • "I changed my mind and now agree with your proposal. How do we go forward?" – DjinTonic Nov 11 '23 at 07:39
  • @WeatherVane It's one possibility that I thought of too, except to me (and maybe this is the cultural thing) it sounds like there are actually more people involved than just "I". I'm not native english speaking, in my language we say "How do one..." otherwise there would be two or more if it was "we". – MiNiMe Nov 11 '23 at 09:34
  • @DJClayworth Another possibility. See my previous comment. – MiNiMe Nov 11 '23 at 09:36
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    We say "How does one..." but these days it can be thought pompous to use that phrasing, so "How do you..." and "How do we..." are used to mean "people in general". Sometimes people mistake 'one ' to mean 'me', but it's general. – Weather Vane Nov 11 '23 at 09:40
  • @alphabet That's what's been brewing in my mind lately, thanks. – MiNiMe Nov 11 '23 at 09:40
  • @WeatherVane Oh it is? I gotta stop saying that. – MiNiMe Nov 11 '23 at 09:43
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    It's a bit formal to ask "How does one..." And some people can be quite mocking and derisive when it's said. It's correct. – Weather Vane Nov 11 '23 at 09:44
  • You have given many good answers that covered it all, it's just one problem - they are in the comment section! – MiNiMe Nov 11 '23 at 09:47
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    Adding to the explanation Weather Vane proposes, 'How do I ...?' can sound a bit over-familiar when asking strangers for advice. 'I' is required in the first paragraph, though. This is not a 'standard I---> we shift', as the question implies – different sentences may require different pronouns, no matter which order they occur in. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 11 '23 at 14:27
  • Is this a more neutral way to ask: "How would you ... ?" – MiNiMe Nov 11 '23 at 14:32

1 Answers1

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The reason for the shift is very simple. In the first paragraph the writer is introducing himself (or herself). Explaining who they are. So they use the first person singular - "I am not an electrical engineer." "I'm working on a computer interface system".

The second paragraph is asking how to do something. But there are many people working on the project, and it is not necessarily the person writing who will be doing the work personally. Several people may work together on the task. So the writer uses the first person plural. "How do we connect the cyclone ...". They want to communicate that it will be a team doing the work. The responder may want to tailor the advice to that fact.

It's also possible that the writer uses "we" to mean "a generic person". Traditionally the pronoun "one" is used for that, but (as WeatherVane says) that sounds pompous, if not downright royal. "You" is typically used instead, but sometimes we say "we" to mean "people in general" (see what I did there!). In any case it's still a switch from telling the reader about myself to asking how many people/people in general would do something.

DJClayworth
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    I think it is much more likely to be "generic person" than the actual team of many. If I were to write an answer I would say it is the generic person. – Paul Richter Nov 11 '23 at 14:36
  • @PaulRichter That is what I also think is the most plausible. – MiNiMe Nov 12 '23 at 00:10