Regarding things teenagers allegedly might not know, at 08:19 AM 1/26/00
-0600, Gary Karshner wrote:
>
> in the modern world [] common experiences
> are getting harder and harder to find.
Which is quite true.
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However, the phrasing of the original list of factoids touched a lot of
nerves in ways that obscured the point about common experiences.
There is another angle here, which is to know your audience's style -- not
just their knowledge of physics nor their knowledge of some list of
factoids -- but their whole attitude toward knowing.
In my experience, some characters are always playing defense, always
worried that they will be blamed for something. If there is some factoid
they don't know, you mustn't act _surprised_ that they don't know, because
they'll instantly think they're being blamed for not knowing. On the other
side of the same coin, with these characters it is OK to act pleasantly
surprised when they do know something.
In contrast, other characters react oppositely. They hold themselves to
high standards, and when they don't know something they're flattered if you
act surprised; they take it as a sign of respect, as a sign you expect
them to know things. Conversely if you act surprised at some small factoid
that they _do_ know, they take it as an insult, as a sign that you consider
them a lightweight.
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The mark of a real master is to figure out where the other person is coming
from and to adapt your speaking (and your hearing) so that what that person
hears (and says) will be interpreted in the spirit which was intended.