11/16/2023 0 Comments Talking to random people![]() They can surprise us in ways our friends cannot. Strangers represent a vast reservoir of colour, comfort and intrigue. The point is not to be a public nuisance, but to see what happens when I simply remove the blinkers and am open to interacting with unfamiliar faces. I natter with homeless people, elevator companions and waitstaff – but stop short of accosting pedestrians in the street. I tag along with an activist for a “Free Listening” session (based on a Californian movement) in which we stand in a park with a sign and wait for people to approach. Taking cues from Keohane, I ignite chatter in supermarkets, shops and restaurants. The assignment made me gulp: Londoners are hardly known for their warmth (the capital was once judged the world’s second-least-friendly city, after Paris).īut as the city reopens, there’s a certain bonhomie in the air. I’m puncturing that by undertaking a two-week experiment in which I interact with as many strangers as possible. By introducing masks, social distancing and the notion that strangers make us sick, the pandemic added yet another layer of bubble wrap between us and the outside. Technology has erased the need for unplanned encounters – awkward, meaningful or otherwise. When in public I only have eyes for my iPhone and my ears are clogged with headphones. Conversations with strangers have gone the way of the dodo in our busy modern lives. “I can’t think of a way out of a lot of these problems that doesn’t involve figuring out how to talk to each other,” Keohane says, speaking over Zoom from his Brooklyn office. We rarely interact with folks who don’t share our views – except to cancel them on Twitter ![]() It can deepen empathy by prompting us to see those around us as fully formed individuals rather than cardboard cut-outs. But in a world riven with political, social and racial divides, speaking with strangers opens windows to other minds. We rarely interact with folks who don’t share our views – except to cancel them on Twitter. Yet strangers offer more than a temporary boost: Keohane is convinced that many of our gravest ills, both on an individual and societal scale, can only be cured by engaging with people we don’t know. ![]() ![]() A professor he interviewed for his book linked it to oxytocin, a chemical released in our brains when we bond with others. Joe Keohane, a journalist and author of The Power of Strangers, tells me my high could be attributable to a sense of “relief” that an uncertain situation has panned out well. I eventually find my resolve, turn and squeak: “Is this your local spot?” You’ll be pleased to hear that a lively conversation ensues – dyslexia and sourdough bread are discussed – and afterwards I experience a small buzz.Ĭonversations with strangers can be exhilarating. ![]()
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