Just reply "With consummate ease..." (after all, it is quite easy to be oneself). That'll confuse 'em!

We do need some sort of way to address people though, don't we? What if when people met you they simply stood there and stared silently? Would that be preferable?

How about if they said "Look, I really don't care anything about you or your state of health, but I feel I have to acknowledge your existence somehow, so...how are you?"

It's simple politeness to say things like "How are you", specially if you can do it with a smile and some genuine warmth. Every culture has its own version of politeness. When you hear people arguing against it by saying that it is dishonest and meaningless, consider the possibility that they are becoming so uncomfortable with themselves, and life in general, that they can't be bothered acting decently to anybody else. One often sees this attitude in alienated teenagers... I find it hard to sympathize with them, although I can say I've been there.

- LH