but you want others to think otherwise.
share your tricks.
skim the paper before the talk for one point that's obviously unclear. skim the literature for titles of related articles that the author didn't cite.
you are now armed.
raise the issue during the talk and mention those other works. draw out your comment. by appearing spontaneous, you will be thought of as a sharp guy.
now you can sit back and dick around on ejmr on your smartphone for the rest of the talk.
This one is my favorite in conferences. Unfortunately, at my department, there is a guy who always sits next to me and asks me what I was confused about on that slide, so he can show me how smart and attentive he is.
Ask the speaker to return to a previous slide, preferably one with a lot of math. Stare at it intentely for a while, without saying anything. Eventually, tell the speaker it okay to resume their talk.
Ask the speaker to return to a previous slide, preferably one with a lot of math. Stare at it intentely for a while, without saying anything. Eventually, tell the speaker it okay to resume their talk.
This one is my favorite in conferences. Unfortunately, at my department, there is a guy who always sits next to me and asks me what I was confused about on that slide, so he can show me how smart and attentive he is.
The correct answer to that is "nothing, but I think this can be generalized."