When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows

by Steven Pinker

Simon and Schuster · 2025 · 384 pages

Steven Pinker explores the often-unseen force of "common knowledge"—the awareness that everyone knows something, and everyone knows that everyone knows it. This profound insight illuminates everything from why we follow social conventions like driving on the right side of the road to the hidden logic behind financial bubbles, revolutions, and even awkward first dates. Pinker uses humor and compelling examples to reveal how this shared understanding shapes our interactions, leading to both cooperation and elaborate displays of pretense.

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Social Psychology & Interactions

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