The line "awkward silences often arise because the geek doesn't pay enough attention to his partner's attention level" struck me as a misunderstanding.  Often when in a group, I'm doing nothing but focus on everyone else's rhythm because following it doesn't come naturally to me.  I find everyone else trading off speaking and often just interrupting or talking over each other without issue.  But before I've phrased my thought and found a place for it, the topic has moved on.