Don't think too hard, Steven, your forehead will fall off.

I'm Angela Duckworth.

I'm Steven Dubner.

And you're listening to no stupid questions.

Today on the show, if everyone hates meetings, why do we have so many of them?

What am I paying all these minions for anyway?

Also, why does modern adolescence last well into a person's 20s?

And you and I were in our 20s. They didn't have cars. They didn't have oxygen even.

Steven, here is an email we got from a John Binion in Baton Rouge. Are you ready for it?

Yeah.

Steven, Angela, I like many others tend to find myself attending more and more meetings

of late. It seems to me that the attendee list for these meetings has gotten longer and

longer. I've noticed that no matter how many people are in attendance, they're usually

only three or four people actively participating in the meeting while everyone else is remaining

silent.

Is there a reason why otherwise talkative people tend to get quiet in meetings with a lot

of other people in them? Is there a recognized sweet spot for meeting attendance?

And finally, why do we pay to have extra people in meetings who aren't going to participate?

Well, John's getting a lot for his money.

Three questions he's asking for the price of one.

Yeah.

Sometimes the first one, why do other wise talkative people get quiet in meetings?

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