Will this be on the test?

There are a great many things that students shouldn't but often do say to professors. Easily number one on any list of annoying questions asked by students is the venerable "Will this be on the test?" This may have been the question that caused Socrates to conclude that the unexamined life is not worth living. How can anyone verbalize an inquiry that can so clearly signal such a profound lack of intelligence and manners? No single inquiry can so deflate the passion of an instructor. It is not a crime to be uninterested in a subject (and, relatedly, too interested in a grade), but it should be to so boldly and thoughtlessly announce it.