the nod

There is nothing more distracting during a seminar than the head nodders and today, let me tell you, there were plenty of them. I do not understand the point of the head nod. do those people simply want everyone around them to know that they understood and agreed with every third sentence? are they trying to convince themselves that they understand the material? are they trying to be supportive listeners? I am guessing it is an ego thing and I think that is what bothers me the most. Being the easily distracted person that I am, especially when listening to talks about arabidopsis thaliana, I should be sitting int he front row. Not in the back counting head nodders and thinking about how much I want to touch his buzzcut and how I hate his hair in a ponytail and wondering who that girl is sitting right there with the wavy hair. Arabi, wha?