In the [2018 film adaptation by Jennifer Lee][1] of [*A Wrinkle in Time* by Madeleine L'Engle][2], there is a scene where Dr Alexander Murry (henceforth *Dr Murry* even if his wife is also Dr Murry),played by Chris Pine, gives a presentation where he seems to be laughed at. Part of the scene can be found in the 1st 50 seconds [here][3], but the laughing is excluded.

**Questions:**

**1. Is Dr Murry being laughed at by the audience while he is giving the lecture?**

**2. If yes, then why? If no, then what was happening?**

I think that whether or not the audience is laughing at Dr Murry is actually either not so clear at first or intentionally a blend of laughter and scepticism, but in the end, the audience is unambiguously or unanimously laughing.

**Guesses:**

1. **Dr Murry is not laughed at.** He is laughed with. The explanation is that he intended laughs because while he makes a correct claim, the claim's assumptions are too unrealistic.

2. **Dr Murry is not laughed at.** He is laughed with. The explanation is ___(fill in blank)___.

3. **Dr Murry is not laughed at** or laughed with. Instead, he is ___(fill in blank)___.

4. **Dr Murry is laughed at.** This is because Dr Murry makes a claim

> *If* you can tap into the right frequency, then you can travel 91 billion light years.

And this claim causes the audience to laugh at Dr Murry.

Note: In this claim, Dr Murry is not saying tapping into the right frequency is possible but is saying consequences *if* such were possible.

5. **Dr Murry is laughed at.** This is because Dr Murry makes a claim

> You *can* tap into the right frequency.

And this claim causes the audience to laugh at Dr Murry.

6. **Dr Murry is laughed at.** This is because Dr Murry makes a claim

> *If* you can tap into the right frequency, then you can travel 91 billion light years.

However, the audience is *misinterpreting* Dr Murry by their thinking that Dr Murry is making the claim

> You *can* tap into the right frequency.

And the latter claim causes the audience to laugh at Dr Murry.

That is, the audience thinks Dr Murry is additionally claiming the former claim which is the assumption of the latter claim: not only is so and so the consequence *if* you can tap into the right frequency but also *can* you tap into the right frequency.

7. **Other**


  [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wrinkle_in_Time_(2018_film)
  [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wrinkle_in_Time
  [3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljl4sqNUJ7w