"This is really more of a comment than a question, but . . . "

Michael Berube on Q&A's at academic conferences. Too funny.

One of these days I want to put together an academic conference that addresses the phenomenon of academic conferences. It will be called "The Longer Version," and will be distinguished by three features: one, every paper will have a respondent who, instead of waiting for the paper to end, will simply snort, harrumph, and blurt "I think not!" at random moments during the paper. Two, questioners will be required to begin all questions by saying, "this is really more of a comment than a question-- I wonder if you could say more about X," on the condition that X was either unmentioned in or tangential to the paper itself. (Questions must be at least three minutes long.) And three, every speaker will be required to answer these questions by saying, "I actually address this question in the longer version of this paper," regardless of whether there is a longer version or not.

Link: Conference Final (via Electrolite)