How to Be Human Part 1

I feel a lot like Michael Valentine, the martian who came to Earth in Robert Heinlein's novel Stranger in a Strange Land. He's an intelligent humanoid who has to learn human customs once at a time. Having been born with few social graces, any socialization has happened along the way, through my friends, family, school and work. And a bunch of trial and error. So this is going to be a new thread of individual lessons that I've had to learn along the way. I've internalized so many of them by now that they're hard to recognize, but every once in a while I find myself doing a calculation for the benefit of the other humans.

Yesterday I wanted to ask a colleague something. I don't see any reason to sugarcoat my need for information. But I felt compelled to interact with him socially for a moment, giving him the impression that I care about him. With this connection re-established I have opened the door to future quick inquiries without the burden of refreshing our relationship.

Next Chapter: Calling people by name.