Smalltalk

I think my definition of small talk is a bit odd. Examples :

-  If we're discussing business and they keep drilling down into one dimension without consideration for other stakeholders ... 

- if we're discussing individual preferences and they avoid tracing out the structure of where preferences come from ...

These are my two most frequently encountered forms of small talk.

...

Also anyone who gets hung up on (is irreversibly emotionally escalated by) trying to be :

- rich (avoidance of poverty)

- loved (avoidance of loneliness)

- a particular type of person (ideals about ethics, fashion, etc.)

These describe the types of people highly predisposed to what I think of as small talk.

...

Small talk may be annoying, but it pays the bills, and sometimes gets you laid, I guess.