摘要 : Scientific meetings are crucial to scientific activity and progress. Not only do they connect people, but they provide many types of opportunities for sharing state-of-the-art findings in particular fields and disciplines. It is d... 展开 Scientific meetings are crucial to scientific activity and progress. Not only do they connect people, but they provide many types of opportunities for sharing state-of-the-art findings in particular fields and disciplines. It is disturbing to many participants at such meetings, therefore, that interaction during the question time following talks is often stilted and uninspiring 1, 2. Observers of this phenomenon have ascribed it to inhibition and shifts in social behaviour that may be the result of big changes in the structure of scientific fields. Alternative forums have been suggested, including virtual conferences and online comments about articles 1, 2. We propose some supplementary diagnoses and cures for this problem, starting with an analysis of what the purpose of question-asking is, and why particular ways of asking questions might be seen as problematic. 收起