The best way to greet a person if you can't remember whether or not you know them

[One_Brown_Mouse]

100% that

also,

@llamaspit

I tell the truth not because of any moral superiority, but because I’m too lazy to keep track of the lies that not telling the truth requires that I keep organized. That, plus telling the truth tends to surprise and confuse people in some situations.

That too!

[One_Brown_Mouse]

@anon41977465

so you know they’re human, but not where you know them from.

Pretty sure they’ll speak up about knowing him before the second round. I would!

[Melz2]

@GulliverFoyle

Granted some individuals may imagine they’re my enemy, as their actual station of nuisance is less flattering to their fragile egos.

Real talk.

A person has to have done some serious fuckery to me personally before I actually regard them as an “enemy.”

[ProfessorDumb]

[quote=“Melz2, post:13, topic:104563, full:true”]I used to joke about putting this on a tee-shirt:

###“In the interest of saving time, let's just assume that I hate everyone.”
[/quote]

Might be counter-productive. Then the only people who will talk to you are the ones who don’t care if they piss you off, and you’ll really hate them.

[bill_posters]

after 25 years of DJing, with a joint constantly in my mouth, life is a minefield of pretending to remember everyone you bump into

[orenwolf]

Let’s not make this personal folks. You’re welcome to share your opinions on the topic, but lets not try to make blanket judgements based on the responses - one hopes people are, as a whole and IRL, a little more complex than that.

For my $.02CDN:

I have this problem all the time because I tend to be easily remembered for whatever reason. I’ve usually just gone with the flow and felt terrible that I couldn’t remember names, but I think I may well try coming out and saying so in the future.

The other problem, though, is that I’m terrible remembering names, you see, so asking for someone’s name again may not actually accomplish much.

[popobawa4u]

@Footface

I see. So when a friend approaches you and says hi, are you startled and suspicious?

I try to be egalitarian in my dealings with people, so I try to not develop personal attachments. Instead of an individual who has friends, it seems more accurate to say that we all have related societal functions. Sometimes there seems to be one organism there fulfilling that function, and sometimes it seems to be a different organism.

@Footface

“Huh? How do you know me? I only came into existence this very moment!”

That’s not too far off. People re-cognize certain patterns they have seen before. But there is no reason to assume that that represents any sort of cohesive personal identity. As pattern-recognition mavens, humans see patterns in everything. Pareidolia begins with believing in one’s own sense of self, even (especially) when presented with evidence to the contrary.

[ProfessorDumb]

I once had to write down some people’s names on a list at work, and I couldn’t remember the new guy’s name, so I tried to cover it up by asking “How do you spell your name?”

“Craig”

“Oh yeah, sometimes people spell that the other way, like… umm…” (red face)

[Melizmatic]

@ProfessorDumb

I’m sure you have reasons for not doing so, but you don’t have to sour grapes the whole human race to rationalise it.

You don’t ‘get’ humor & sarcasm, I gather.

Bummer.

[Footface]

@popobawa4u

But there is no reason to assume that that represents any sort of cohesive personal identity.

That’s weird. I think there is a good reason to think that that human who was Bob last year and last week and yesterday is still Bob today.

I’ve been right every time!

(I’m really good at recognizing Bob.)

[ProfessorDumb]

@Melizmatic

You don’t ‘get’ humor & sarcasm, I gather.

Bummer.

Not really, but I don’t think I’m missing much. If I don’t understand what the other person is saying I just start talking about Lego so at least one of us will be happy.

[Melizmatic]

@ProfessorDumb

Not really, but I don’t think I’m missing much.

Nice passive-aggressive insult, there.

[ProfessorDumb]

(Footface kicks Bob in the shin)
“I refute it thus!”

[One_Brown_Mouse]

@ProfessorDumb

If I don’t understand what the other person is saying I just start talking about Lego so at least one of us will be happy.

You mean Legos? I’ll start up a random conversation with anyone about legos, but, unless they’re scandanavian we are not going to talk about lego.

[infundibulum]

I agree. I go to a lot of events where I meet a lot of people in a pretty short time. If I can recall which event I met them at (“I think we met at BigConference in NameOfCity”), I throw it in to show some goodwill. But no one ever seems too fussed. We’re all busy people.

Edit: Although there is one dude who I’ve known for 6 years who never remembers me, and I’m a little offended. Every time, I offer the same out: “Oh, we’d all had quite a bit to drink, no worries about not recalling me!” He has never taken it - he doesn’t drink. 6 years. Same event, every year. Same conversation. I’d worry, but meh.

[Kimmo]

@scottchilcote

He looks disappointed and says “Well I have to hurry off, I just thought it was worth saying something.” Me: “Ok… Take care Mike.”
Ten minutes or so later my memory kicks in, and I realize this was one of my best friends in the 11th grade. Beardless, of course. I ran out to the parking lot, nobody in sight. Never saw that guy again

Fucken bummer. I bet that’s haunted you…

[anon24181555]

My mother always greets me with that.

[anon73430903]

@ficuswhisperer

I find it easier to just be anti-social.

Are you sure?

Unsocial is ignoring someone because you don’t recognise them.

Anti-social is punching them in the face because you don’t recognise them.

[anon41977465]

Now I’m picturing a Dune/Peanuts mashup where Lucy keeps getting Charlie
Brown to put his hand in the black box with the Gom Jabbar.

Congratulations blockhead! You’re still human!

[Israel_B]

Damnit. Now I’m gonna have that stuck in my head for a while.