The Hidden Rules Holding Society Together: Steven Pinker on Common Knowledge
About this episode
Dr. Heather Berlin and Dr. Christoph Koch discuss common knowledge with cognitive scientist Steven Pinker, exploring its impact on society and relationships.
Why do we speak in euphemisms instead of saying exactly what we mean? Dr. Heather Berlin and Dr. Christoph Koch sat down with cognitive scientist and bestselling author Steven Pinker to explore common knowledge — not what everyone knows, but what everyone knows that everyone knows. Get it? Common knowledge is an awareness of something that is public or “out there” and it has an enormous impact on our social, political, and economic lives. From unspoken rules of flirtation to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Pinker reveals how the social force of common knowledge shapes everything from our most intimate relationships to global financial markets. His work illuminates central ideas of the Perception Box, a framework developed by Elizabeth R. Koch for understanding the forces within us that shape how we see ourselves, relate to others, and move through the world. Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University where he conducts research on language, cognition, and social relations. Pinker is the author of thirteen books, including his latest book When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows… and seminal texts like The Language…
People in this episode
Host: Dr. Heather Berlin
Guest: Steven Pinker
Topics covered
- common knowledge
- social dynamics
- cognition
- language
- relationships
- economics
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Harvard University, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, The New York Times, Time, The Atlantic
Books & works: When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows…, The Language Instinct, The Blank Slate, How the Mind Works
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