"Firstly, I had obviously annoyed a lot of censorious people, and secondly, any ban would provoke interested readers to move from the library, where they couldn't get hold of my novel, to the bookshops, where they could," Pullman said, pointing to previous objections to the film of The Golden Compass, which he said resulted in soaring book sales.
In between the ruminations of "Paradise" and the jolts of "The Hurt Locker" you can find an assortment of styles and effects, not all of them pleasing but most of them provoking at least interested distaste, rather than indifference.
Yet Mills isn't interested in provoking gasps of surprise.
"The Park Service is interested in provoking people to think about these places and their meanings," she said.
But Kelly was less interested in provoking the tabloids than adding a new voice to conceptual art.
Many Republicans voice doubt that Mr. Clinton will negotiate in good faith, feeling that he is more interested in provoking disputes that would help Democrats at the polls.
And he did little to dispel the feeling among Republicans that he is more interested in provoking confrontations that can be used to the advantage of Democrats in the campaign than he is in getting legislation signed into law.
"The actions of the CIC/ Newcastle group during the process confirmed our belief," he said, "that the group was never a serious buyer, but was only interested in provoking a change-of-control transaction as a means of advancing its own short-term interests".
This big, messy and uneven show, still a thought-provoking one for patient and interested viewers, surveys how artists like Vito Acconci, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Mel Chin, Ghada Amer, Stan Douglas and many more have cultivated gardens in fantasy and in reality.
But she provoked gasps from a keenly interested audience - and wide-eyed amazement from Francois-Cerrah - by telling an anecdote about her father's kindness in hiring Muslim servants.
In so doing, students were motivated to reflect about what systems they are most interested in, what provokes more curiosity, and what kind of scientists they would like to be.
