I realize that's a strange question. But it does puzzle me. When we talk, we generally bump into many alien opinions that contradict ours. It's known to be pleasant to talk to those who hold the same opinions, we even quite affectionately call them soulmates, but most of the time we're surrounded by people who hold opinions different from ours. Take this forum .

So when we look at a talking activity objectively, it an activity that is equal to a waste of time. No strong pleasant feelings get derived from talking to people who don't share your views, and no exchange of knowledge happens when all parties reject each other's knowledge as wrong. That could be redeemed to a degree by having successful arguments, no matter on the winning or losing side. But usually arguments don't happen, even though discussion often takes the deceptive form of an argument, because all sides are decided on what they think beforehand

It's rather puzzling that having experienced these dead-ends daily, something keeps us talking to others again and again! What is it?