Chris Duffy

Is it weird if I meet this person in the park and then say, hey, can I get your number so we can just hang out as friends?

Or should I not do that?

So much of what stops us from actually making deeper social connections with friends is uncertainty around what is or is not

Allowed, normal, wanted, desired.

How can we think about or change our perspective on that kind of uncertainty?

Okay.

And then my last hypothetical one is a personal one for you, which I imagine you have experienced many times.

On the other end, which is what if you are a person and you are meeting someone and you're not 100 percent sure how to pronounce their name?

You're not sure.

Is it Simoni?

Is it Simone?

Is it Simone?

You don't want to say it wrong.

You don't want to be rude.

How can you handle that uncertainty as a person who I know has had to think about this many times in his life?

Simona, it's been such a pleasure talking to you.

I knew I was, I will say I was certain that this would be a good conversation, but thank you for making it be a good conversation and for helping us all to embrace some uncertainty in our lives.

That is it for today's episode of How to Be a Better Human.

Thank you so much to our guest, Simone Stolzow.

His new book is called How to Not Know.