Introvert Jessica Pan was advised to overcome her fear of talking to strangers by asking stupid questions. An impromptu therapy session ensues during which, after probing, I confess that I’m most scared that a stranger will think I’m weird and stupid. Or, if it’s on the tube, everybody will look at me and think I’m stupid and weird.”“Excellent. However after the call, the sheer relief of not actually being forced to ask strangers if there is a queen of England suddenly empowers me. Subjects consistently thought they were more interested in talking to their neighbour than their neighbour was in talking to them.

Source: The Guardian December 02, 2017 10:52 UTC