ASK DR. BOLI.

Dear Dr. Boli: My car has started making a whining sound, especially when I turn the steering wheel. What do you think it means? —Sincerely, Bertram K. Wickett VIII, Fox Chapel.

Dear Sir: Has it occurred to you that what you so cavalierly describe as “whining” may in fact be your car’s very cogent arguments against turning in that direction? It may be trying to spare you from the inevitable disappointment of arriving at a place that is no better than the place you left. Instead of just dismissing its reasons as “whining,” perhaps you ought to listen to what your car has to say. Otherwise you begin to sound like a bit of a whiner yourself.