And in part to the outrage at a fairly innocuous event.

First of all are we agreed that if you're going to a country on a tourist visa, you need to convince the guard that you're a tourist? If you want to convince the guard of anything else, you need to have the appropriate visa. Any experienced traveller should know this.

Now on to laughing at the guard.

It is reasonable for the guard not to know that novels are typically fiction. I've encountered many cases where intelligent, well-educated people have drawn blanks on things that should be common knowledge. (One case that comes to mind involved which continent the Alps are on.) The fact is that it happens, and I've come to react with sympathy, not distain. I've also come to have distaste for people whose first reaction is to make the situation worse by putting down the unfortunate.

Perhaps my attitude is due to awareness of the fact that I'm often in the corresponding position when I draw blanks on things that really are common knowledge, such as current ads or popular TV shows.

What goes around, comes around, and all that.

Ben