Misapprehensions

I sometimes think it is next to impossible to read people. Not infrequently, when I think I have a clear sense of how a person thinks or feels about an issue, his or her behavior—suggesting my reading was utterly off the mark—surprises me. Such is the danger of attempting to read the motivations and thoughts of others through their words and actions. That erroneous reading of another person is not the only danger of misinterpretation. That misapprehension can, if one is not careful, lead one to make embarrassing gaffes of language or behavior. Best to put on a poker face and choose language to match its impenetrable mystery. Or be prepared to endure the consequences of committing a faux pas of one kind or another.