Mr. Approachable.

Walking down the street in connaught place with two friends, I was approached for directions.

It wasn't the first time it'd happened. It wasn't the last. It isn't even rare.

It's fairly common.

Perhaps the only reason it'd even be worth mentioning is because the approachee, in this case, was a hot girl, rather than the usual 40 year old parent.

I only caught her face from the corner of my eye as I gave out directions to the nearest McDonalds. I regretted it immediately, of course, when I hot girl speaks to you you damn well look at her face. Instincts take over though... I'm still shy at the most basic level of functioning.

It's no longer coincidence. Even if I'm in a group of people... the one asked for directions, advice, help, is me. Some 85% of the time. Hell, the rest of the time I assume they're talking to me and answer instinctively.

The same thing happened at IIT Delhi, when I tagged as my sister was getting admitted. It happened again in Nehru Place when one guy assumed I knew all the bus routes in Delhi.

Because I'm a generally under employed human being who thinks about six times as much as he needs to, I have spent a bit of time pondering over this.

Can I form I hypothesis to explain this phenomenon, my apparent approachability, in a logical manner?
More importantly.
Can I exploit it for personal gain?

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a cold person when it comes to interacting with new people, a not so well hidden mean streak for stupidity, and a master at finding out how to piss people off with minimal effort. So it's not that my personality traits that are somehow apparent in my demeanor.

So switch to physical appearance. This makes more sense. Analyzing my body is a lot less interesting than analyzing my wills, skills, motivations and deviations. My body is pretty unexceptional in comparison.

Which is precisely the answer.

What makes me approachable is probably that I seem non-threatening, but also without displaying any undesirable qualities.

Not tall, not too short either. Not fat, not thin either. Not handsome, not ugly. Not dark skinned, not fair. Not intimidating, not pitiful.

Average.

I generally look like a tramp. Walking with head down and looking at my surroundings rather than at people.

Maybe it looks like I know where I'm going... or maybe I'm just loitering around so I'm easy to approach.

Initial Assessment: This will not help me in any way.