Once in my life, I figured out the right thing to say to a woman.

I was chatting with the girl I was dating at the time. Just making conversation, I said:

Me: “I read an interesting article about astronomy today.” *Pauses* “Well, I don’t know if you’re interested in astronomy.”

She took this to mean, “I don’t know if you’re smart enough to understand astronomy,” and was insulted.

Girl: “I’m not dumb! I could understand it!”

I tried to explain that it wasn’t that I thought she wasn’t smart enough, but that I said exactly what I meant: that she might not be interested. But she wouldn’t have it. She went on and on about how she wasn’t stupid and how dare I say she was stupid and so on.

Finally, I got a burst of inspiration.

Me: “I’m sorry. It’s just that there’s this stereotype that all incredibly beautiful women must be dumb, and sometimes it’s hard to get past that.”

She accepted that explanation.