第2752期:The hidden logic of human harmony(4)

Or laughter, where an unignorable noise can expose the common assumptions among everyone who gets the joke.或者是笑声，那种无法忽视的声音能够揭示所有明白这个笑话的人之间的共同假设。Conversely, when we worry about upending a relationship, we might go to great lengths to repress common knowledge. We might avoid looking someone in the eye, or pretend to ignore the elephant in the room or mumble with great incoherence.相反，当我们担心会颠覆一段关系时，可能会竭尽全力压制“公共知识”。我们可能会避免直视对方的眼睛，假装忽视房间里的“大象”，或者用极其含糊的方式咕哝说话。This is why, in everyday conversation, we often don't blurt out what we mean in so many words, but veil our intentions in innuendo and euphemism, counting on our listeners to catch ourdrift.这就是为什么在日常对话中，我们常常不会直截了当地说出自己的意思，而是用暗示和委婉语来掩饰自己的意图，并依赖听众去心领神会。A classic example is the sexual come on "Would you like to come up and see my etchings," which by the 1930s was so familiar that James Thurber could draw a cartoon in which the hapless man says to his date, "You wait here and I'll bring the etchings down."一个经典的例子是性暗示“你想上楼看看我的蚀刻画吗”，到了20世纪30年代已经如此普及，以至于詹姆斯·瑟伯能画出这样一幅漫画：倒霉的男士对他的约会对象说，“你在这等着，我把蚀刻画拿下来给你看。”A century later, etchings has become “Netflix and chill.”一个世纪后，“蚀刻画”已经变成了“Netflix and chill”（看网飞电影并发生亲密关系的委婉说法）。We also veil our bribes, as in, "Gee, officer, is there some way we might settle the ticket here?"我们也会掩饰我们的贿赂，比如说：“哎呀，警官，有没有办法我们可以在这里把罚单的事解决掉？”And our threats, as in, "I'm so delighted to learn that you're on the jury of the Soprano trial. It's an important civic duty that we should all take part in. You've got a wife and kids, we know you'll do the right thing."同样，我们也会掩饰我们的威胁，比如说：“我很高兴得知你是‘索普拉诺’审判的陪审员。这是一项我们都应该参与的重要公民义务。你有妻子和孩子，我们相信你会做正确的事。”The point of innuendo is not plausible deniability because these euphemisms don't pass the giggle test, but rather deniability of common knowledge.暗示的目的并不是为了让自己“貌似有否认的可能”，因为这些委婉语经不起一笑置之的检验，而是为了否认“公共知识”的成立。If Harry says to Sally, "Want to come up for Netflix and chill," and Sally turns him down, well, Sally knows she's turned down a sexual overture, and Harry knows that Sally has turned down a sexual overture.如果哈利对莎莉说：“要不要上楼Netflix and chill？”而莎莉拒绝了，那么莎莉知道自己拒绝了一个性暗示，哈利也知道莎莉拒绝了一个性暗示。But does Sally know that Harry knows? She could think, "Maybe he thinks I'm naive."但是莎莉知道哈利知道吗？她可能会想：“也许他觉得我很天真。”And does Harry know that Sally knows that Harry knows? He could think, "Maybe she thinks I'm dense."而哈利知道莎莉知道哈利知道吗？他可能会想：“也许她觉得我很迟钝。”Without the common knowledge, they can maintain the fiction of a platonic relationship.没有公共知识，他们就能维持一种“柏拉图式关系”的假象。But if Harry were to have said, “Want to come up and have sex,” and Sally said no, well, now Harry knows that Sally knows that Harry knows that Sally knows.但是，如果哈利说的是：“要不要上楼做爱？”而莎莉拒绝了，那么此时哈利知道莎莉知道哈利知道莎莉知道。With this common knowledge, they can no longer maintain the fiction of a platonic friendship.有了这样的公共知识，他们就再也无法维持柏拉图式友谊的假象了。And that's what lies behind the intuition that with bare-faced speech, you can't take it back. It's out there.这正是那种直觉背后的原因：一旦赤裸裸地说出来，就无法收回——它已经在那里了。