To put it bluntly, any psychopath can mimic the ritualistic protocols of business. It seems to take a real human to sustain the gamut between relevant and trivial interactions over an extended period of time. We use conversation to confirm the humanity and credibility of the people around us.

Back when I was using PGP all the time — and unsuccessfully trying to convince others to do so — I apologized to a friend for forgetting to digitally sign a message. “That’s okay,” he wrote back, “your wry wit is signature enough.”

By the way, and perhaps speaking more to the intended point. If you followed the link, did you notice that post by James Governor? Go read it.