The Dissident Writer

Dr. Strangelove

The Z Man's avatar
The Z Man
Apr 10, 2024
∙ Paid

Human communication relies about a vast set of shared assumptions about the world that are just assumed by speaker and receiver. When the speaker says, "I am low on gas", the receiver responds with, "There is a gas station at the next exit" because he assumes that the driver mentioned the gas level because he will soon need to gas up the car, so he is asking for the location of the next gas station. In that simple exchange lies a lot of shared assumptions.

User's avatar

Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of The Z Man.

Or purchase a paid subscription.
© 2026 The Z Man · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture