Decoding the science of awkwardness
Author Ty Tashiro, lined up for Emirates Airline LitFest, says the trait can be a winner
Gulf News Report
One of the most keenlyawaited authors at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature to be held in March next year, Ty Tashiro’s approach to explaining awkwardness in humans has won him the admiration of millions.
His book Awkward, the Science of Why We Are Socially Awkward and Why that’s Awesome, explores many facets of this trait, with surprising uses for it as a tool to enhance one’s image socially.
In an exclusive email interview with Gulf News, the USbased author talks about what makes him delve into these matters.
You have referred to these times as a golden age of awkwardness. Why? When I was a teenager back in the late 1980s, the worst thing you could be called was a nerd — someone passionate about something decidedly uncool, things like playing the clarinet, television shows like Star Trek, or school subjects like math or science. In the 2000s, the term we use more often in the US is ‘awkward’, but somehow being awkward became a source of pride and something to be celebrated. The golden age of awkwardness has seen technology geeks become celebrities (e.g., Steve Jobs, Bill Gates), nerdy interests become cool (e.g., ComicCon), and even movie stars identifying as awkward (e.g., Awkwarfina).
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You say revealing embarrassment on awkward episodes is viewed as ‘prosocial’. Is this one of the ways in which the awkward earn higher social value?
The reality is we all have awkward moments, and awkward people have awkward moments, so when that happens, the best thing you can do is embrace the reality that you have done something awkward. A great example of this is the reflex to blush. Researchers have found that when people blush after doing something awkward, others find them more likeable. We like people who blush after a clumsy social situation as it acknowledges there has been a social faux pas and also shows remorse for inconvenience caused by the awkward behaviour.
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Can people with awkwardness get to a space where they feel they are awesome? ■
The awesome part of the book title comes from findings in social science that giftedness and awkwardness seem to go hand-in-hand. Awkward people tend to have an ability to sharply focus on the things that interest them and be incredibly persistent at becoming knowledgeable about their interests. Awkward people also tend to see the world with a unique perspective, which is why they miss some social cues that are very obvious to others, but their unique views, strong focus, and persistence set them up well to achieve extraordinary things.
That being said, not all awkward people are gifted and not all gifted people are awkward. But what seems to be common among awkward people is an intense passion for the things that they love. If someone can find something that provides tremendous purpose and meaning while also developing the social skill to maintain gratifying relationships, then life can indeed be awesome.
What do you look forward to during your Dubai visit?
I am excited to attend the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai!
I have never been to Dubai or anywhere in the Middle East, so this will be an exciting opportunity to see a new part of the world for me.
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