A two-fer from deadlifting economist and international man of pithiness N.N. Taleb (The Bed of Procrustes),
When she shouts that what you did was unforgivable, she has already started to forgive you.
True. This is a variation on the CH maxim that the opposite of a woman’s love isn’t her hate, it’s her indifference. A woman truly in an unforgiving mood will check out of the relationship and not care whether you express remorse. If she’s shouting at you through tears and indignation, she’s still very much in love.
Charm is the ability to insult people without offending them; nerdiness the reverse.
It’s the Neg versus the Tedium.