329 | Steven Pinker on Rationality and Common Knowledge

<p>Getting along in society requires that we mostly adhere to certainly shared norms and customs. Often it's not enough that we all know what the rules are, but also that everyone else knows the rules, and that they know that we know the rules, and so on. Philosophers and game theorists refer to this as&nbsp;<a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/common-knowledge/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">common knowledge</a>. In Steven Pinker's new book,&nbsp;<a href="https://stevenpinker.com/publications/when-everyone-knows-everyone-knows-common-knowledge-and-mysteries-money-power-and" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows...</em></a>, he explores how common knowledge (or its absence) explains money, power, and a wide variety of subtextual human interactions.</p><p>Blog post with transcript: <a href="https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025/09/22/329-steven-pinker-on-rationality-and-common-knowledge/" rel="noopener norefe...