The next time I'm stuck at a function for my children and trapped in what would normally be a "small talk situation" I'm going to jump straight to "What's your opinion on seed oils, taxation and foreign policy?"
Discussion
No one can fault you for not trying to engage yet you end the interaction immediately.
Brilliant!
"I'm just asking questions."
I spent the last year asking "what new hobbies or rabbit holes have you been exploring?' But most people are NPCs so they have nothing. "None really, just work. Did you catch the game?"
I'm out. Idgaf about sports unless its my kids' soccer match.
If there is no signal, I'd rather stand in silence through the noise.
Is that your go to question when meeting new people? That is what I've come to ask also. Not about work or where they live. I want to hear their passion. I don't want vanilla people around. I want passion.
Same
A rabbit hole I fell down a couple months ago concerns Angus Nicneven's Star's Bleed book. His website goes DEEP, been active for over 10 years and hardly anyone really knows what any of it is about.
A truly unique way to utilize the web to create a narrative and story which I am obsessed with.
Start here > https://angusnicneven.com
IKR
Even in my free time (which there is little of) I'm always learning something!
Kinda how we are at our agora markets, mostly to each other (as vendors) and not always with visitors, but sometimes, we get those folks with that kind of vibe