“Have You Tried Turning It Off and On Again?” – the Greatest Question Ever Asked

There are many questions in life that make you stop and think.

“Does pineapple belong on pizza?”, “Why does the dog bark at absolutely nothing at 3am?” and “Why do people think that daylight saving gives them more daylight?” But none of them – not one – comes close to the raw, world-saving power of the greatest question any human has ever asked:

“Have you tried turning it off and on again?”

This one sentence has solved more problems than any government agency, guidance counsellor, or motivational quote slapped onto a sandy beach background. Honestly, if we carved it into a monument and stuck it next to the pyramids, future archaeologists would nod politely and say, “Yeah, fair enough.”

So why does it work? Why does this magical phrase fix everything from a misbehaving laptop to a phone that has clearly been possessed by the devil?

Let’s break it down.

First, computers – like humans – get overwhelmed. They have too many things open at once, they’re running processes you didn’t ask for, and half the time they’re trying to update themselves while you’re in the middle of something important. It’s like dealing with someone who hasn’t slept properly since 2008. A reboot gives them what we refuse to give ourselves: a full system reset and a fresh start. You push the button, it sighs, shuts its eyes and wakes up pretending the last 24 hours never happened.

Second, the “off and on again” manoeuvre is sheer genius because it requires absolutely no technical knowledge whatsoever. You don’t need to open the command prompt. You don’t need to chant an incantation. You certainly don’t need to unplug something from one mysterious port and jam it into another. You simply turn the thing off, wait a moment, turn it on, and suddenly you’ve gone from “helpless victim of modern technology” to “wizard of the digital realm.”

Third, and this is the important bit, it works embarrassingly often. And by “often”, I mean “far more often than it should in a rational universe.” Engineers with advanced degrees built these machines. People who understand physics, electronics and some of the mysteries of the universe crafted them… yet all it takes to defeat them is what is essentially the IT equivalent of a nap.

You could be on the brink of hurling your device into the nearest bin. It won’t print, it won’t load, it won’t behave. You’ve clicked everything. You’ve sworn at it. You’ve stared at it threateningly. And then someone wanders by and asks, with all the calmness of a Tibetan monk, “Have you tried turning it off and on again?”

So you do it.

And it works.

And you quietly curse them under your breath for being right.

But here’s the real secret behind the question’s power. It’s not just about fixing technology. “Off and on again” is a philosophy. A lifestyle. A way of dealing with everything that’s teetering on the edge of total chaos. Having a bad day? Try a Restart. Too many tabs open in your brain? Restart. Accidentally sent an email meant for your wife to a client? Well… still restart, but maybe also apologise.

If only everything else in life came with a big glowing “Restart” button, the world would be a calmer, saner place. Until then, keep using the greatest question ever asked. And if something’s still not working after that?

Well, then it’s properly broken.

That’s when you call someone else.