How common knowledge shapes the world | Steve...

Social entrepreneur Van Jones believes a new human civilization is being born in real time — and that our technology is racing ahead of our wisdom. In this urgent and hopeful talk, he reframes the AI debate, showing why the real danger isn't the technology itself but rather the c ...  Show more

Cognitive scientist Maya Shankar and author Simone Stolzoff have each spent years studying how people navigate uncertainty (and why it often feels so difficult). In this conversation, they discuss why your discomfort with not having the answers might be holding you back — and how ...  Show more

Common knowledge is the secret engine of social life, letting us coordinate everything from meet-ups to markets to international diplomacy. In this fascinating talk, experimental cognitive scientist Steven Pinker explores its momentous impact, threading together stories of why au ...  Show more

Learn more about your affect profile by taking the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule quiz (PANAS) here. So much of life depends not only on what we know, but also on what we know that others know as well. This shared awareness—what social scientists call common knowledge—expl ...  Show more

Steven Pinker returns to Conversations with Tyler with an argument that common knowledge—those infinite loops of "I know that you know that I know"—is the hidden infrastructure that enables human coordination, from accepting paper money to toppling dictators. But Tyler wonders: i ...  Show more

Steven Pinker’s new book argues that all our relationships depend on shared assumptions and “recursive mentalizing” — our constant efforts to understand what other people are thinking. He and Steve talk about the psychology of eye contact, the particular value of Super Bowl ad ...