Overheard somewhere, sometime

SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER (in a cheerful tone): I'm working on fixing the XYZ disturbance in the flux capacitor module.

MANAGER: You know, you can try {insert obvious technique here} to fix that.

SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER (in a calm, pleasant tone of voice): Thanks for the suggestion. I have a question for you, and please don't read too much into this. When you offered that suggestion, was it because you thought I was unaware of that technique or that I've overlooked something?