He had had many conversations during his long life. Some were fascinating and stayed with him more than a century later. Others were less so. As a younger man he had tolerated those as part of the cost of doing business-a sort of tax that all people must pay in order to take part in civilized society. When he had turned one hundred, he had decided to stop paying that tax. Henceforth he would engage only in conversations that really interested him-which, with a few exceptions for close friends and family members, meant conversations with a purpose.
( Neal Stephenson )
[ Seveneves ]
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