I understood this better when I made it more concrete, though not with the same phrase at all levels.
W says “There’s not a pandemic headed our way from China” simply because W believes there’s not a pandemic headed our way from China. W is making a claim, turns out to be wrong, and is surprised.
X says “Masks aren’t effective against COVID-19” because X is a government agency who wants to reserve masks for frontline workers, and hasn’t thought up any strategies besides lying to the nation. X knows they were probably lying.
Y reflexively shares a meme saying “The anti-mask folks are definitely getting sick from their protests” because Y’s friends are all pro-mask. Y’s not actually trying to reach anyone who might be dissuaded from going to those protests. Y will switch on a dime once Y’s friends identify with the next set of protests, and share stories about how outdoor protests are actually safe—Y never remembers that they were wrong before.
Journalist Z writes an article mocking the tech weirdos who stopped shaking hands in February out of fear that coronavirus was coming. Z isn’t following a crowd, Z’s making a step to shift the crowd- making a bet that Z, and tech journalism in general, will look good to the crowd for dunking on the tech nerds. Z will be very surprised, later, to find out that there were actual real-world events at stake.
I understood this better when I made it more concrete, though not with the same phrase at all levels.
W says “There’s not a pandemic headed our way from China” simply because W believes there’s not a pandemic headed our way from China. W is making a claim, turns out to be wrong, and is surprised.
X says “Masks aren’t effective against COVID-19” because X is a government agency who wants to reserve masks for frontline workers, and hasn’t thought up any strategies besides lying to the nation. X knows they were probably lying.
Y reflexively shares a meme saying “The anti-mask folks are definitely getting sick from their protests” because Y’s friends are all pro-mask. Y’s not actually trying to reach anyone who might be dissuaded from going to those protests. Y will switch on a dime once Y’s friends identify with the next set of protests, and share stories about how outdoor protests are actually safe—Y never remembers that they were wrong before.
Journalist Z writes an article mocking the tech weirdos who stopped shaking hands in February out of fear that coronavirus was coming. Z isn’t following a crowd, Z’s making a step to shift the crowd- making a bet that Z, and tech journalism in general, will look good to the crowd for dunking on the tech nerds. Z will be very surprised, later, to find out that there were actual real-world events at stake.