It's just not that hard. "Ah, if you're interested in formal methods, you might look into a language called Coq, that's c-o-q (named for one of its authors, a F

It's just not that hard. "Ah, if you're interested in formal methods, you might look into a language called Coq, that's c-o-q (named for one of its authors, a Frenchman)...". No need to voluntarily dance around twisting our own shirts into knots for the bureau of thoughtcrime. People are reasonable, don't go out of your way to be an undesirable prick and you won't get in trouble. All this masculine pearl clutching makes my eyes roll back in my head so far they're going to get stuck one of these days. "How do I safely manage my female reports?!?!" and related whingeing. Treat them like humans, don't hit on them, and sure as shit don't share details about your life in their 1:1's, it's your boss' responsibility to fake that interest, not your subordinates ffs.