I would say I'm pretty okay with small talk for short stretches, but otherwise I have to turn it into a game/performance/experiment to stay engaged. Like if I go to a party and the people are boring me with small talk, I'll just throw a question out like: Who is the physically strongest man in this room? And while I don't actually care about the answer, it's so interesting to sit back and watch.
If I can manage to get people off the weather, I really enjoy walking people step-by-step through their bizarre logic and seeing if they even notice how crazy they sound. I don't argue with them because I want them to truly reveal themselves (plus it can cause a lot of fuss). I usually try to draw them out through feigning naïve curiosity. Sometimes you learn a lot from them, but it's usually quite an unintentional lesson on their part. It's really funny because so many people are sure they themselves have THE ANSWER, and the other 6 billion people are idiots.
I listened to some dude explain how the Old Testament, if you decode the numbered passages, predicted 9/11. He did so with a feverish intensity, his bald head purpling, his jowls moist with sweat. I couldn't help but wonder why this was so important to him, and why he didn't really seem to think too critically about how much of a reach it all was. What was gripping him so? Do I have a personal equivalent to this guy's obsession?
My mom genuinely likes small talk, and so she gets disgusted watching me toy with very sincere people. My argument is that if I'm not hurting them, they enjoy my company, and they don't even notice, how is it wrong? They are essentially using me by inconsiderately spraying me in the face with all their obsessions, why do I just have to sit back and not get anything out of the interaction? Is it wrong to study animals in the wild? Then why is it wrong to study beliefs in the wild?