> The man in the audience at the academic conference who wants to lecture rather than ask a question...
To be honest here, she started the lecture. He offered advice she lectured him and "explained why his method wouldn’t work". There was no need for that lecture/explanation.
Had she been a man she'd be challenged in the same way with that response. The right non-provocative response would have been "I can't use the measuring tape since that's only precise to X ...".
He felt put down and he'd have done exactly same had she been a man.