Steven Pinker

How is sex treated?

Can it be transactional or is it only intimate?

All of these mixing and matching of resources, relationship models, and contexts, that's what makes cultures differ from one another.

But in each case, there is some kind of common knowledge that holds the relationship in place, that sets out what you're allowed to exchange, what you're allowed to hoard, what you're allowed to demand.

And that's what it means to be a competent member of a culture, to master that.

Each one of them being a matter of common knowledge.

The more universal, the better.

And by universal, I mean- You mean earth wide?

I'm sorry.

I'm an astrophysicist here.

Correct yourself.

Okay.

The more commonly accepted, the better.

The more earth wide.

Right, the more earth wide, the better.

But really it's about experiential knowledge.

Even if you've never been through what I am talking about, if I can put you there,

then you will laugh with me.

There are many people, many comedians that talk about marriage and people who are single laugh because they have observed somebody else in a relationship that they understand what this comedian is talking about.

That broadens your access points to the person.