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 <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/common-knowledge/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">common knowledge</a>. In Steven Pinker's new book, <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 noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025/09/22/329-steven-pinker-on-rationality-and-common-knowledge/</a></p> <p>S<em>upport Mindscape on </em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Patreon</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>Steven Pinker received his Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University. He is currently the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He is the author of several best-selling books and recipient of several honorary doctoral degrees. Among his awards are Humanist of the Year (two different organizations) and the William James Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Psychological Science.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://stevenpinker.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Web site</a></li> <li><a href="https://psychology.fas.harvard.edu/people/steven-pinker" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harvard web page</a></li> <li><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bUhVerAAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Scholar publications</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Steven-Pinker/author/B000AQ3GGO" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon author page</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Pinker" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p>