I write amusing (yet practical) essays about social interactions. Like:

17 Forms Of Bragging Compared and Rated (aka how to communicate status without alienating your audience).

(aka how to communicate status without alienating your audience). Subtle Ways To Be Approachable: How standing in an incomplete circle (with a small gap) invites passers-by at events to plug the gap and say hi.

How standing in an incomplete circle (with a small gap) invites passers-by at events to plug the gap and say hi. Flirting : Plausible deniability and how kids these days have become majestically subtle at expressing romantic interest. E.g. "My current boyfriend" or the ambiguously flirty act of liking your profile photo on Facebook.

: Plausible deniability and how kids these days have become majestically subtle at expressing romantic interest. E.g. "My boyfriend" or the ambiguously flirty act of liking your profile photo on Facebook. Compliments: What makes the following compliment so beautiful? "When I was in high-school French class, the teacher was telling the whole class how atrocious my hand-writing was. Then in popped Mrs. Kane, who stood behind me and bluntly told Mr. Cruise that I wouldn't need good handwriting, because when I finished school I'd have my own secretary." Can this beauty be replicated? About the blog, me, and the mission The blog style is intended to be Dale Carnegie crossed with Brain Pickings and WaitButWhy. Or platonic Pick Up, without the stink. Or the exact opposite of WikiHow. It's popular with smart, educated readers, especially startup CEOs, programmers / CTOs, PhD students, people with high-functioning autism, and general lovers of insights about people.

The mission is to develop a community to research remarkably good and bad social skills, from skills worthy of diplomats to those beneath even a Reality TV star. I base my articles on thousands of real-world observations, as well as a reading of the scientific literature:

And who am I? Because of potential professional conflict, I'm staying anonymous for now. But for what it's worth I can reveal that in meatspace, I am an Oxford graduate, a programmer, and a (very modestly) successful entrepreneur.

Why you should consider signing up for the mailing list:

Know when my (in-progress) book is released. I am also researching low effort mental algorithms to produce humor on demand. For example: "Irony: Describe something as its opposite." When someone is exceptionally polite in asking for a lighter, you might (in an obviously joking way) say "jeez no need to be an asshole about it". Or you might refer to your perennial goody-two-shoes friend as a "trouble-maker" etc. The point isn't that these are amazing - they aren't – it's that they are sufficient to lighten the mood at a very low cost in mental energy (an important factor for over-thinkers, the socially anxious, or anyone writing a speech on a deadline). I've collected 79 other candidate examples of funny-thought generators . Click to expand the text to readable proportions.

For example: When someone is exceptionally polite in asking for a lighter, you might (in an obviously joking way) say "jeez no need to be an asshole about it". Or you might refer to your perennial goody-two-shoes friend as a "trouble-maker" etc. The point isn't that these are amazing - they aren't – it's that they are sufficient to lighten the mood at a very low cost in mental energy (an important factor for over-thinkers, the socially anxious, or anyone writing a speech on a deadline). To get notified about articles (approx once a month or two) — I am a slow writer.

— I am a slow writer. To get certain long-reads in (free) ebook format (PDF, kindle, etc.)

Build a community to add and discuss observations.

Make me feel I'm not wasting my breath. Writing is lonely without an audience and I've failed before.

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