Rudeness
This might also fit under "have you ever been rude to a celebrity?" question for awhile ago.

We had a well-known scientist come and give a presentation to our department when I was in grad school. Before the seminar, all us grad students got to sit down with him and discuss burning issues of the day.

The talk went to endocrine disruptors, a hot environmental concern at the time. It of course focussed on Theo Colburn's book "Our Stolen Future," an alarmist piece of pseudoscience predicting the end of our world within the next half generation. When the seminar speaker said "if you take money from industry and don't find any danger you are suspect." I shot back with "If I take money from the World Wildlife Fund and do find something I am equally suspect." I wondered why he looked so upset about that, but I kept shooting my mouth off, calling the author "Theo Bromine" and rolling my eyes. Only afterward did people compliment me on my ballsiness and explain that his major source of funding was from the WWF and Ms. Bromine was one of his closest friends.

I make no appologies.
( setimret likes his metaphors mixed, not stirred, Mon 28 Feb 2005, 17:23, Reply)