re: Are orchestral conductors full of shite?

as someone who played in the symphonic setting, you don't really need to be looking directly at the conductor to be getting guidance from him. This most of what the conductor is doing up there is cues that can be seen out of the corner of your eye as you are looking at music and has been well rehearsed in rehearsal. Also, by the time you get to a performance the conductor has hammered the tempo/volume changes into your head well enough that you probably don't need to look. I guess all this to say a conductor earns his keep BEFORE the crowd really sees him