Small talk: why people engage in it? And why?

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Good question.

From my years of analysis, people engage is smalltalk for the following reasons:

1. Their brains are warming, up. If they have come from a different situation such as work, they may not be automatically adept at witty or intelligent conversation.
2. It is less about the talking (often the ask things they already know the answer too), it is really about the bonding, body language.
3. A lot of people find intellectual conversations quite taxing, especially if it is not their interest or skill level.
4. Talking about nonsense can spawn into a serious conversation, where the people couldn't think what to talk about.
5. It can sometimes provide clues as to interest or personality.
6. It is a way to judge mood. So you will know what would be appropriate if at all.
7. People often revert to small talk when they are nervous.

Small talk doesn't bother me , but I don't understand it much either. I do enjoy being polite and friendly to people. But I would rather talk about something that means something. And yes, why does it always have to be the weather?

I like talking about the weather.

My special interest when I was a kid was meteorology.