They were just being friendly

There is a principle in science called the Null Hypothesis Rule. It says assume nothing is happening until evidence proves otherwise. Start from zero and let the evidence move you.

Scientists use this in labs. But honestly, it is most useful on a Friday night.

You meet someone at a party. The conversation flows. They laugh at your jokes. They ask you questions. They touch your arm once. You leave that night and your brain is already writing a story. "They are into me." You text your friend. "I think something is there." You start planning the next move.

But what is the actual evidence?

They laughed. People laugh when they are being polite. They asked questions. People do that in conversation. They touched your arm. Some people are just warm like that. Everything you are building this on could mean something, or it could mean absolutely nothing.

The Null Hypothesis says start from nothing. Assume there is no interest until you have real evidence that says otherwise. Not a vibe or a feeling or "the energy was right." Something concrete. They asked for your number. They followed up. They made plans. They showed up.

I have watched friends spiral over this. "Bro, she likes me." I ask, "What did she actually do?" And they list things that any friendly person would do with a stranger at a party. That is not evidence, that is just someone being nice.

And I have been there myself. Reading into a conversation that was just a conversation. Turning a normal interaction into a sign. Building something in my head that the other person had no idea they were part of.

The Null Hypothesis protects you from that. It keeps you honest. Start from "there is nothing here" and let real evidence change your mind. If the evidence shows up, great, now you have something real. If it does not, you saved yourself from chasing a story that only existed in your head.