Hate small talk? You may enjoy that ‘dull’ chat more than you think, say researchers

Participants reported enjoying the human connection regardless of whether they thought the topic was dull

The human aversion to dull experiences was nailed by the author Paulo Coelho when he declared: I can stand defeats, pain, anger. But I can't stand boredom."

But the natural desire to avoid boring conversations comes at a cost, according to researchers, who found that people enjoyed chatting about tedious topics far more than they expected.