On social energy - by Max Langenkamp - Unruly Sun

Back as a student doing cognitive science research, my advisor was a ridiculously productive accomplished academic. The moment of peak stress each week was our weekly discussion. Every time after our meetings, I noticed the world relax. My whole being sighed in relief. Why does it take different amounts of energy to be around different people? At some parties, time stretches on like teeth awaiting a dentist. I feel slow, stupid even. With my closest friends, hours pass like a quick stream, flowing late into the night. First, we are constantly interpreting ourselves for others. In my mother’s apartment, I will get up out from the living room chair, roll onto the expanse of living room carpet and fall asleep. In a professor’s family home, I have to pay close attention to whether I keep my shoes on or off in the house, or whether I can place my mug directly on the wooden table. We act in accordance with an implicit theory of mind for each person we are around. I know my mother doesn’t min

Back as a student doing cognitive science research, my advisor was a ridiculously productive accomplished academic. The moment of peak stress each week was our weekly discussion. Every time after our meetings, I noticed the world relax. My whole being sighed in relief. Why does it take different amounts of energy to be around different people? At some parties, time stretches on like teeth awaiting a dentist. I feel slow, stupid even. With my closest friends, hours pass like a quick stream, flowing late into the night. First, we are constantly interpreting ourselves for others. In my mother’s a