DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have developmental prosopagnosia, or face-blindness, and cannot recognize any human faces. I work remotely in a profession that does not require me to interact directly with others. My husband watches TV and movies with me in case I confuse the characters, and goes to parties with me to help me know who I’m talking with.

I have been very open about my condition and my willingness to answer questions about it, and have made sure to inform all my friends about it. But I have one friend who insists on showing me photos of people. She will hold her phone right in front of my face and scroll through dozens of pictures of her son, his friends, her husband’s family, friends that I’ve never met, and so on.

I’ve tried saying things like, “Oh, is that Junior?” or “Is that the same girl from the other photo?” After a particularly grueling session of many, many photos of her son’s high school prom, I even said, “You know I’m face-blind, right?”

But nothing has stopped this behavior. Due to the isolating nature of my condition, I have a very small number of friends, and I don’t want to lose this person’s friendship. Can you think of something I can say or do to make her stop, without offending her?

GENTLE READER: You are likely not the only one with this question. It seems probable that everyone else this person has bored senseless would also welcome a solution.

Miss Manners is beginning to wonder if there is a medical condition that renders people unable to notice that others run when they see them coming.

The polite way to refuse to look at pictures is to look away and say, “I’d so much rather you talked to me about it. Did your son tell you what high school proms are like these days?”

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When I tell someone I am an engineer, they often ask what my degree is. My husband, also an engineer, never gets this question. I am 68 years old and I have gotten it over 100 times in my life, including last week.

I’m always surprised and insulted, but I just say what my degree is and move on. Sometimes there are even follow-up questions, such as which school I attended -- like it’s not possible that I could have a four-year degree in engineering.

I would like an answer that indicates that this is a sexist and insulting question, without being too obvious or confrontational.

GENTLE READER: “Unfortunately, it’s not to operate a choo-choo train, as I suppose you were hoping. Just a regular engineering degree, like my husband’s.”

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have a friend who constantly solicits gifts for a variety of occasions, both for herself and for her 12-year-old son. Most recently, she tagged me on social media next to a link to a gift registry for her son’s 8th grade graduation.

Is this a thing?

It seems she feels he is entitled to gifts and recognition for being promoted to the next grade. How should I approach these kinds of requests?

GENTLE READER: Of course it is a thing. Are you not constantly being solicited for money and goods from just about everyone who has your contact information?

But Miss Manners assures you that that does not make it a proper thing, nor one requiring a response.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, gentlereader@missmanners.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: What is a polite way to refuse a hug with friends or strangers? What to do when my proffered handshake is batted away and a hug pursued instead?

Some men, especially, seem to want to hug me because of my large chest, and it seems more like sexual assault than a friendly gesture. And there are certain women (whom I do not consider friends) who have behaved badly to me in the past, and I do not want them to touch me.

Is the advice the same in either case? And what about when they chase me?

GENTLE READER: Run.

No friendly gesture should come at the cost of personal safety. If your proffered hand is batted away, step back quickly and do a little bow (to get some distance between you), and then mutter by way of explanation, “Something is going around and I don’t want you to catch it.”

Miss Manners will leave it to your discretion to tell these people that that “something” is their salacious behavior.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: As a preteen, I was told by someone that it was rude to eat one food on my plate at a time -- that I was supposed to move around my plate, eating bites of each item in succession.

I like enjoying all of one food before moving on. The only thing I can liken it to is watching a TV show, and someone changes the channel in the middle of it. I want to finish the show I’m watching before moving on to the next.

The day I was told this, I made a silent vow to myself that I would always eat one food at a time, the way I prefer. But I’m wondering if you have ever heard of the rule this person was trying to impose on me.

I would think it’s rude to surveil other people's eating, but then, this person was still trying to do this when I was in my 60s. I am no longer in this person’s life, but the question has nagged at me for decades. Who was right?

GENTLE READER: You.

Even Miss Manners does not have opinions on the order in which you eat your dinner -- and certainly would never monitor it.

As long as you are not trying to consume the bread bowl before the soup or making similarly chaotic choices, she supports your decisions -- both on how you choose to eat and for distancing yourself from this nagging person.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We were out to dinner with another couple, and my wife became horrified when I took the final sip of my cocktail, along with an ice cube, and then proceeded to return the ice cube to the glass.

The final sip is the best sip! Is this so horrible?

GENTLE READER: Yes.

By all means, take that final sip. But Miss Manners will have to insist that you find a way to do so without the ice coming back up naked.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, gentlereader@missmanners.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I was taught by my mother and grandmother, who practiced what they preached, that condolence letters are to be acknowledged.

Their practice was to answer every condolence letter with a return letter. It could be long or short, but at the very least it should express gratitude for the sender’s thoughtfulness.

I have followed their practice throughout the decades, and I have found that writing acknowledgment letters has been very helpful to me as I have coped with the grief of losing important friends or family members.

In recent years, however, I have not received any acknowledgment for condolence letters that I have sent. I make it a point to write something thoughtful, including a memory of the deceased and a statement of my appreciation of him or her. I would never send a preprinted, store-bought condolence card.

Should I just face the fact that most people simply don’t write acknowledgments anymore? I’d like to tell them that doing so might help them in their grieving process.

It is also a thoughtful gesture to acknowledge thoughtful gestures, right?

GENTLE READER: Yes, but Miss Manners does not recommend you tell them that. Besides it being an admonishment, it will not help your cause if they disagree.

But if it makes you feel better, you are correct. Condolence letters should be acknowledged, assuring those who care that their appreciation of the deceased and sympathy for the bereaved was meaningful.

Doing so can also offer comfort in recognizing the importance of the life that was lost.

Or not. But it is still the correct thing to do.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Sometimes I am served something I don’t want to eat, like meat with fat or gristle. I trim my portion and move the trash to the side of my plate -- inconspicuously, I hope.

Once, though, I was served peas that had coarse strings that hadn’t been removed. So I removed them before eating each one.

Is leaving a pile of debris offensive to the hosts or other diners? Does it imply that the cook was sloppy?

GENTLE READER: Perhaps, but it is preferable to choking slowly on pea strings.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My neighbors have several gatherings a year, and they are always potlucks. If the invitation says, "Bring a dish to share and a bottle of wine," then I am happy to do so.

However, I’m single, and I have noticed that the couples and families also bring only one dish and one bottle of wine. Am I being petty to think this is unfair?

GENTLE READER: Etiquette is not in the business of making everything exactly fair. Unless things are overtly unfair, it is more polite not to notice.

Since the point of the potluck is to share, it feels unseemly to count exact portions. (Perhaps the families do not eat or drink much.) Miss Manners therefore suggests you overlook this injustice and save your annoyance for all of the other ways single people are disadvantaged, inconvenienced and charged more in our society.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, gentlereader@missmanners.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)