In this week’s Book Club podcast, Sam Leith is joined by psychologist and linguist Steven Pinker to discuss his new book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows…
Pinker explores the powerful idea of ‘common knowledge’ - not simply what we know, but what we know that other people know, and what we know they know we know.
From the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes to revolutions, financial markets and international relations, he argues that our ability to coordinate with one another depends on making certain things publicly understood.
Sam and Steven also discuss why language may have evolved partly to help us coordinate, why wars can be driven by honour and status as much as resources, and why blushing, laughter and eye contact can all be understood as ways of generating common knowledge.
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