THE eminent Russian physicist Andrei Linde once found himself on a long flight seated beside a businessman nose-deep in A Brief History of Time.
Without having been introduced and before the usual small talk, they struck up a conversation about it.
What do you think of it? Linde asked.
Fascinating, said the businessman. I cant put it down.
Oh, thats interesting, the scientist replied. I found it quite heavy going in places and didnt fully understand some parts.
At which point the businessman closed the book on his lap, leaned across with a compassionate smile, and said, Let me explain.…
Stories like this keep me from saying everything I think…
source (the above excerpt is actually a conflation of two sources, the first was from Sunday On Scotland, but I can’t find a link that works. Anyway, their opening sentence was much better than the second source I found so I kept it)