I deal with a lot of different people in a given day, academics, trades people, sales people, students, parents, bankers, employees....you name it.<p>I do <i>all</i> of the context switching, or condescending, up or down because I long ago realized it was the most effective way to the job done. Most people can't or just suck at it.<p>End result? It's exhausting,I get incredibly sick of talking to people and start to feel incredibly alienated. It's like I have to speak a hundred different dialects of English to get through the day.