I admit it. I have a hard time with names.

Actually, that isn’t true. I actually memorize names fairly well. The only problem is that I can only memorize them well when I see them in print. If you walk up to me and tell me your name, without tons of real effort, I can’t keep it in my skull for very long. It helps if I stare at you and write your name a few times. Then it works pretty well.

Of course the world would be a lot simpler if we all took the advice of
Scott. Scott decided
that he’d wear a nametag. All the time. Everywhere. When at the beach he
wrote his name on his chest with a marker.

He’s a bit of a nut, but he’s got a nice philosophy, that we spend far too much
of our time trying not to make eye contact with others, trying to shun the
interaction with others that we end up craving. Why not make the simplest
gesture possible, and make it easy for everyone to call you by name? What
difference could that make?

Apparently it makes quite a bit of difference. He’s got lots of interesting
stories. It is a fairly compelling idea, especially to a borderline recluse
introvert like myself. I might have to give it a shot.