“If you’re not looking into my eyes when I’m talking to you then I don’t think you respect me.” Do you know these people? Get off your high horse already. All it means is that I’m able to carry on a conversation while doing something else. Ie. I’m economizing on my time. It may come as a shock, but everyday conversation is not some noble art, it’s a very common and cheap thing, any two people can have a go anytime at all.

And at the heart of the issue, not every conversation is engaging enough to require that kind of undivided attention. If I were speaking to say Jerry Seinfeld about his writing process or say Miguel de Icaza about his next vision in the linux space, I just might want to concentrate fully on that. But if I’m having an everyday conversation about some issue that isn’t immensely gripping, I’m not going to. In any case, it’s a drag to keep up that staring contest beyond the first 5-10 minutes anyway.