Which leads to an interesting question: is it necessary to compare? Why does something have to be ‘the best’, isn’t praising it enough?

Some time ago I read (part of) a book* by Alfie Kohn. He challenges comparison. A very interesting read. Now every time a journalist interviews somebody, I notice their tendency to ask in a superlative manner:
“What was your most exciting experience?”, “Who is your favorite artist?”
In a way these are “closed questions”; they force the interviewee to choose. An open way of interviewing would be:
“What exciting experiences did you have?”, “Which artists do you like?”

Only a subtle difference?

*) unsure if it was “No contest” or “Punished by rewards”.