When children liked me, I did not know why. When they disliked me, I did not know why. Nor could I formulate a plan for winning their affection. I simply didn't know how things worked with other people. There seemed to be a certain randomness and unpredictability in their attitudes and actions. And try as I might, I couldn't find a way to make other people seem less strange and unknowable. Because of that, the social world seemed vague and threatening. And so, as a boy, I had approached it with a great lack of confidence, even dread.
