“Be curious, not judgmental.”

This quote is often attributed to Walt Whitman, but it was Ted Lasso that made it famous. In one of the show’s most memorable moments, Ted uses this line to explain how people made assumptions about him instead of taking the time to understand him. If you haven’t seen it, watch this clip:

At work, we do the same thing all the time—especially as designers and developers. We assume instead of asking:

• “Why did the designer make that choice?”

• “Why is this code written like this?”

• “Why would a user behave this way?”

And when we assume, we create worse products.

Assumptions Lead to Bad Code and Bad Products

In development, assuming why code is structured a certain way—rather than asking—often leads to unnecessary rewrites, tech debt, and bugs. That “weird” function might exist because of a legacy integration. That unusual UI decision might be there to prevent a major accessibility issue. Without curiosity, we bulldoze solutions that were carefully thought out, replacing them with something that could create even bigger problems.

On the design side, assuming a developer will “just figure out” how to implement a concept—without understanding technical constraints—leads to frustration, scope creep, and misalignment.

And when it comes to users, assuming we know what they want—without researching, testing, or listening—cripples products. Features get built that no one needs, workflows become confusing, and we waste time solving the wrong problems.

Curiosity Builds Better Teams and Better Products

Instead of assuming:

• Ask why. Before refactoring code, check if there’s context you’re missing.

• Understand constraints. A designer might have chosen an interaction pattern for accessibility reasons. A developer might have used a workaround due to API limitations.

• Talk to users. Research, test, and iterate. The best products come from learning, not guessing.