YOU'RE all by yourself at an MRT station or bus stop when a total stranger suddenly walks to just a few inches of you and blurts out this question close to your face: "What time is it?" No matter how harmless or decent-looking the stranger, you'd likely feel a deep sense of intrusion, as if somebody has just barged into your bedroom from the outside in the dead of night. You may not say a word, but your sense of violation would be real. This is because when asked direct questions like "What time is it?" point-blank, the preliminary amenities neglected, people instinctively resist answering and oftentimes become downright hostile.

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