A lot of those exchanges might be disingenuous but they also provide opportuniti...

iskander on March 27, 2011 | parent | context | favorite | on: Why do Russians smile so little (and Americans so ...

A lot of those exchanges might be disingenuous but they also provide opportunities for short bursts of friendly contact between strangers. If the default were purely transactional then being friendly with a clerk/barista/etc... would be more difficult/awkward.