There are many different senses of the word "so". I'm guessing that "so" as an adverb in phrases like "so much" or "so many" is not what is meant here.
I think we're thinking of "so" as a sentence-starting filler word, as in "So now that we've finished talking about that, let's move on..."
In that sentence, "so" serves no purpose. The sentence has the same meaning without "so". "Now that we've finished..."
I think we're thinking of "so" as a sentence-starting filler word, as in "So now that we've finished talking about that, let's move on..."
In that sentence, "so" serves no purpose. The sentence has the same meaning without "so". "Now that we've finished..."