I am not good with small talk.
See, I am Austrian. We are grumpy people. Not only am I Austrian, I am also from the Western part of Austria. Here is what the CIA World Factbook has to say about this:
[…] population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere.
No wonder than that we are not often in the mood for idle chit-chat.
In addition, I am a scientist, and like many other scientists deeply suspicious about small talk. We like novel insights and interesting thoughts. We don’t always understand what small talk is for. So, traffic this morning was horrible, you say? The weather has been lovely this June? Thank you, but I don’t need to be informed about the bloody obvious.
life and learning 