I’m usually very circumspect in what I say; I tend to choose my words carefully in the interests of being precise and of not cheesing off the wrong people. That’s why I often surprise myself by what I say in class in front of dozens of people. Sometimes students ask a question about which I’m not certain, but which I answer with the apparent authority of Mr. Wizard. These answers sometimes extend into mini-disquisitions of several minutes duration, and after class I wonder where in the world it all came from. It all sounds plausible as I’m saying it, but I shouldn’t really speak of the Russian party system in more than a speculative way.
I can even say things that might qualify as less than tactful if taken out of context. On the first of day class last week, for example, I found myself devising an off the cuff class system for the English speaking world: the aristocratic British, middle class Americans, and tacky lower class Australians. I’ve never thought of anything like this before and koalas are as cute as can be, but it just sprang to mind so I said it. At least I made sure there weren’t any Australians in the room beforehand. Of course it could be offensive to others as well since the Irish and South Africans and whoever else must by implication fall outside the class system altogether into a group of untouchables. I guess in these days of hair-trigger litigation I should monitor myself more closely, lest I be accused of discriminating against people with funny accents.
