Periodically appearing in well-researched reports that are the paper copy of pointless hand-wringing, they fade into the general hum, part of the whirr of things we could do much better on.
This year, there's no advertised host, just a few announced acts, the nostalgia factor of Britney Spears returning to the site of her greatest career moments, and a lot of pointless trophies to hand out.
My own flirtation with implanted technology came to an end when I moved away from London, making an Oyster-equipped hand pointless.
Lionel all but cures the Duke of his affliction, and stays on hand when his pointless brother, Edward Guy Pearcee), led astray by Wallis Simpson, abdicates in 1936, leaving Bertie to assume the throne as George VI.
She takes off her pointless gloves and sends her hands down to where the earth is warmer.
Instead of being handed places on pointless committees, member associations must be made to feel more involved in decision-making, beyond the opportunity to vote for the president every four years.
And when Soviet citizens went home from their pointless toil with their roubles in hand, they were then systematically disadvantaged as consumers.
The thing is, if you find the hand gestures gimmicky and pointless, you can simply ignore it, and it won't get in your way.
And so the scientist knows when the question "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" is a pointless delay in our progress.
Some argue that diplomacy with Iran is pointless because power lies in the hands of the Supreme Leader and that Rouhani -- albeit being president -- does not have much say.
To resist its fascination, and not to try your hand at solving it, is pointless self-denial.
