Are most discussions primarily an opportunity for people to engage socially?

Possibly, but there is a certainly a huge proportion of discussions that are not

Many discussions are engaged in to discern the truth regarding a particular subject or to defend a particular point of view. A desire to interact socially may be part of the motivation, but is very frequently not the primary motivation.

It's worth pointing out that formal discussions relating to people's work-life are almost never engaged in for primarily social reasons.

• By Nicolas Holzapfel
• May 27, 2010