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Allan Johnson struck a chord with his piece on?question-and-answer sessions at academic conferences (¡°Interrogative mood music¡±, 29?August). However, I would like to?point out that one type of question is missing from his list: the (phoney) ¡°Daft Question¡±. It?has this incipit: ¡°This might be a?daft question, but¡­¡±.

As a young scholar new to British academia, I often ¡°questioned¡± the Daft Question¡¯s logic: why ask if the point is not worth making? Besides, no academic in her right mind in continental Europe would start from such a humble premise! Experience however has shown that often hidden behind such modesty, dictated by the British propensity towards self-deprecation, are the most challenging and provocative questions.

Having gone native by now, I happily join in the ritual of the Daft Question in the hope that what I have to say is not ¡°literally¡± daft.

Anna Notaro ()
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
University of Dundee