How Common Knowledge Shapes the World, with Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker explains that 'common knowledge'—the state where everyone knows that everyone else knows—is the invisible infrastructure of human society, enabling coordination in money, power, and relationships.summaryHe argues that non-verbal cues like eye contact and laughter serve as 'common knowledge generators' that convert private thoughts into public reality, while euphemisms and 'weasel words' allow people to maintain plausiblsummaryThe breakdown of shared common knowledge due to media silos and segregation is identified as a primary driver of modern societal polarization.summary
