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We live in a world of small-talk. That pisses me off. Our species has not only evolved the ability to understand abstract concepts, but to communicate them through the half-assed manipulation of our mouth-flaps and fingertips.

We squander this gift of communication when we ask questions we already have answers for, or worse yet, if we seek answers to questions we don't even care about.

Here's how this sub works: Ask a thought-provoking question to start a discussion, or make a challenging statement to start a debate. Your goal should not be to make jokes, ask leading questions, fill the air, or to troll people. My goal with this sub is to host meaningful discourse when it can be found, and none at all when it can not.

So with all that said, I'll start us off: How often do you practice small-talk? Why do you think we practice it at all? At what point (if at all) does it become harmful?
We live in a world of small-talk. That pisses me off. Our species has not only evolved the ability to understand abstract concepts, but to communicate them through the half-assed manipulation of our mouth-flaps and fingertips. We squander this gift of communication when we ask questions we already have answers for, or worse yet, if we seek answers to questions we don't even care about. Here's how this sub works: **Ask a thought-provoking question to start a discussion, or make a challenging statement to start a debate.** Your goal should not be to make jokes, ask leading questions, fill the air, or to troll people. My goal with this sub is to host meaningful discourse when it can be found, and none at all when it can not. So with all that said, I'll start us off: How often do you practice small-talk? Why do you think we practice it at all? At what point (if at all) does it become harmful?

8 comments

[–] [Deleted] 0 points (+1|-1)

"Oh, man." "It is what it is." "You get it." "If I even have to explain it ...?"

Are these examples of inappropriate content?
[–] Sarcastaway [OP] 0 points (+0|-0)

inappropriate content?

In regard to small-talk, or to this sub? Either way, I say they're fine.

I think those examples would be considered platitudes, or maybe cliches. Nothing wrong with using them (unless you're an author). A few of those can be very useful for exiting a conversation you find tedious.

Small-talk in my mind is when you start a discussion about the weather, sports, ect when you could just as easily remain silent. To be clear, small-talk is not inherently bad. Its just a useless thing us humans do out of habit, or discomfort. IMO, this becomes harmful when we use small-talk to avoid discussing "real" or important topics.
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