> But there's a catch: the effort is all one way. A conversation is a two-way street. Why do people initiate smalltalk about sports or TV? Because this is a co

> But there's a catch: the effort is all one way. A conversation is a two-way street. Why do people initiate smalltalk about sports or TV? Because this is a common ground where the most people can contribute. So you start there and maybe together you steer towards more specific subjects where both parties have an interest. So if people initiate a conversation about these subjects with you, that should they are making an effort. If you don't follow sports or tv, then you contribute another starting point for smalltalk. People who want to skip smalltalk and jump directly to the "intellectually stimulating" subjects are typically the kind of people who just want to hear themselves talk about their favorite subject and don't care about other people except as an audience. In other words, bores. But being a bore has nothing to do with IQ. Of course there are also bores who are only able to talk about sports or tv. But if you think most people are only interested in these two subject, you probably confusing the starting point of smalltalk with the entire conversation.