How to answer any question with appropriate erudition

Yours truly first noticed that truly smart people - particularly those who make presentations at UCLA seminars - began a year or two ago starting the answer to any question with "So..."  Then it spread to public radio.*

Now radio commentator Harry Shearer has a new feature on his "Le Show" program called the "So's of the Week."

Here are the last two weeks of so's:

So...  What do you think?

*http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2011/12/02/so-it-turns-out-that-everyones-starting-sentences-with-so/