Talk to him of Jacob’s ladder, and he would ask the number of the steps.

Some minds go straight to the measurable detail and miss what was being said. Asking for the number is not stupidity; it is a way of handling something large by turning it into something countable. The cost is that the point slips past while the conversation moves to specifics nobody cared about. Precision applied to the wrong part of a subject is another way of not listening.

When someone tells you something that matters to them, hold off on the practical questions for a few minutes. Ask what they mean before you ask how many. The details will still be there once the point has landed.