Well, Ian, that was an extremely lucid account of what must have been a very strange experience. Thank you for sharing it.

I don't think you should feel bad about what you've done; empathetic, yes, but not bad. I wish there were more scholars on my side of the Atlantic willing to make the extra effort of thoroughly questioning the approaches, claims, and assumptions of students. It always means more work, on occasions a certain hostility from colleagues, and an increased danger of slipping up and getting out of one's depth. In the long run, though, I think you are doing the student a great favor by letting her know what the 'hot seat' feels like. As long as what you have 'done to her' is followed by constructive and hope-inducing suggestions (deserved, I think, as you imply), then I'd have no compunction whatsoever were I in your shoes.

Let us know how it goes. I have always loved being near the Mediterranean, the Mediterraneans make great cocktails for sipping at the beach. 

Agreed with turfers and Ruby. Ian, all you have to do is have a sympathetic chat with her, putting these points across in a less formal way. I also think you ultimately will have done her a favour, and she really should have been prepared for this by her erstwhile supervisor. It's a good thing you'll be taking over, even if only in part.

Baz and others above are absolutely right, Ian. Much better now, in the relatively 'safe' surroundings of an internal seminar, than at an external conference or, worse, her viva.

This is going to sound unbearably smug, but I honestly don't mean it to, but I've not yet really been challenged that strongly on any of my PhD work  that I have presented outside the tutorial room. Maybe it's actually OK, but I can't help thinking that a rougher ride at some early stage would, paradoxically, have given me more confidence in the long run. This isn't about "me-me-me", but I would say from experience that some tough questioning is not just useful but probably an essential part of postrgraduate study.

I'd agree with the general tenor here, Ian.

Speaking from my own experience, I'd suggest that at each stage of academic progression what was expected shifted. At 'O' level, it was enough to demonstrate that you knew specific facts: by 'A' and 'S' level you needed to be able to start showing that you could interpret them, and by university the onus on research and background had shifted into a more prominent position still. Understanding these differences was an important part of being able to start producing the required results, and I'm sure that although the majority of students work this out for themselves, there will always be a minority who need more guidance in order to understand that with each stage of progression the requirements are not just for (much) more of the same, but a broader and deeper examination. When it comes down to specialist subjects, then you have to be aware of the level that others who specialise in them are working at, and it seems that in this case the poor girl either wasn't, or else, possibly, had already reached her boundaries. Either way, not making this clear would have been a far crueller move.

She'd obviously put a great deal of work into her presentation, but not the right work: to see this is upsetting, and her reaction was what one would expect. As others have said: it will call for great gentleness yet firmness to explain the level of explanation and proof that will be required for success in convincing others of her theories. Sadly the academic world is one which is ruthlessly inimical to innocence, but that's the way of the world, especially in these days of increased competition. It may be that she's already beyond her level. I hope not: but not being made to see that the level that she was working on for that presentation is incompatible with what will be required for progress is an inescapable fact.

What a day of disaster it has been! First of all, we forgot to put the bin out! And as if that were not sufficient, we then realized - three days too late - that we had forgotten to attend to the tele-phonical account. We hope we do not overmuch dampen members' spirits by this relation. We really blame it all on our simplistic nineteenth-century conceptions of the Orient.

I've been in a depressed mood for nearly a week...  I was travelling from Moscow to London (where I've now arrived), but decided to go by rail via Berlin (mainly for devilment), and spend a few days there along the way.

However, around 40 miles short of the Polish/German border, around 10pm local time, there was a fearful crash and everyone on board the train lurched, with several people falling on the floor as we halted.  I was 9 wagons back from the front of the train, but word filtered back via the train staff that we'd hit a car on a level crossing - all three people in the car had been killed.  In the middle of the forest, as we were, it took well over 90 mins before the Emergency Services arrived, but there was nothing they could do for those who'd been in the car.  After the track was cleared, a replacement driver took the train on to Berlin.

Despite being only a passenger, I 've found myself feeling somehow complicit in the deaths of the people who were killed in the car, and the incident keeps replaying in my mind  

Reiner, I'm very sorry to hear about this tragic accident.  It's a traumatic thing to go through, and it's only natural you're feeling the weight of that.  Give yourself time, talk to people about it (including here) as you need and want to, and get plenty of rest.   

A, I did say "try" to put it behind you.  As I said in my post, after my own experience,  I can still see that man's face 15 years later.  In no way did I mean that Reiner could do it instantly and forget it and pull himself together.  I was just registering sympathy and trying to help.