Framing
A young priest asked his bishop, “May I smoke while praying?” The answer was an emphatic “No!” Later, encountering an older priest puffing on a cigarette while praying, the younger priest scolded, “You shouldn’t be smoking while praying! I asked the bishop, and he said I couldn’t.”
“That’s strange,” the older priest replied. “I asked the bishop if I could pray while I’m smoking, and he told me that it was okay to pray at any time.”
The way you ask a question can profoundly influence the answer you’ll get.