At a recent conference, I had the opportunity to have lunch with several professors that are well regarded in the field. When I introduced myself with a brief blurb about my research project, one inquired, "Oh, is the X group still working on that? What do you think of their work?"
(X group as in the research group of Prof. X aka Person Who Publishes in High-Impact Journals on (often) Over-Interpreted Data).
I felt this was an especially odd/awkward line of questioning given that
1. I have published work directly contradicting X group publications
and
2. X group hasn't published in my area since early 2006.
I think that there are three likely explanations:
1. The questioner is currently reviewing an X group manuscript on the topic. (semi-likely)
2. The questioner is a huge fan of my project and has read all of my manuscripts many times over. (not so likely)
3. The questioner is well-read in the field and so connected my project with Prof. X and was merely being polite, but I over-interpreted the question due to a delightful combination of sleep deprivation and not-yet-arrived coffee. (quite likely)
