fresnelly

Just today while riding transit, I listened in as a guy started up an unsolicited conversation with a women after he accidently bumped into her. He began with an apology, moved onto a rant about how kids today don't respect strangers and then somehow ended up on politics.

I couldn't believe it. I'm not against breaking down the walls we build around ourselves, but I'm very respectful of your personal space when out and about. To her credit, she was game and spoke her mind. But this wasn't a heated conversation (I think he was clumsily but confidently flirting with her) and by firmly stating her opinions , she forced him onto other topics.

I think most strangers who want to talk politics unprompted are just looking to vent, rather than engage you. When put on the spot like this, I do my best to shut down the conversation by returning as little energy as possible.

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Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life