I pair program every day, and this is not a typical experience for me.

When I pair I'm having an active discussion with the person I'm pairing with about what piece of functionality we're implementing. We don't rubber-stamp things for the sake of it.

If my pair has a great idea on how to do something and I don't, I let them run with it, and then maybe I have an idea that builds on top of that, which I may not have figured out on my own. I'm analysing what they're doing, thinking of ways to improve it as they go.

This idea of one person just coding away while the other person sits there is a mystery to me. If one person is 'passive', you're doing it wrong.