In 1971, at the age of seventeen, for reasons unknown to me then or now, I
began to keep a journal on human behavior. I catalogued all sorts of
“nonverbals”—what is more generally called body language. At first it was
the quirky things people did: why did they roll their eyes when they were
disbelieving or reach for their neck when they heard bad news? Later it
became more nuanced: why did women play with their hair while on the
phone or arch their eyebrows when they greeted one another? These were
small actions, but they captured my curiosity. Why did humans do such
things, in such variety? What was the purpose of these behaviors?