I was scrolling through Youtube comments under a video by Anthropic where someone wrote: “you say wow way too much” And I froze. Because I knew, I do that. If you have seen or listened to any of my podcasts, you will know that I’m the guy saying “wow” or “that’s amazing,” asking follow-up questions, leaning in a little too much. Trying to show I care. Trying to bond.

At Navy boot camp, back in 1993, there were eighty of us in the end-of-training company photo, looking smart in our dress blues. Only one smiling face…