Geeta Dayal:
Two Japanese researchers recently introduced a prototype for a device they call a SpeechJammer that can literally “jam” someone’s voice — effectively stopping them from talking. Now they’ve released a video of the device in action.
“We have to establish and obey rules for proper turn-taking,” write Kazutaka Kurihara and Koji Tsukada in their article on the SpeechJammer. “However, some people tend to lengthen their turns or deliberately disrupt other people when it is their turn … rather than achieve more fruitful discussions.”
Session Chairs at scientific meetings should be equipped with one of these. If a speaker exceeds their allotted time - speech jammed. Likewise, if an audience member poses a dumbass question - “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you.”