What Is IDK?
My daughter the other day asked me what IDK means. I knew the context of her question because she had asked me what TY, LOL, BRB and other abbreviations used in chats mean. However, it made me think of a modern Abbott and Costello-like routine.
Questioner: What is IDK?
Responder: I don’t know.
Questioner: You don’t know what IDK means?
Responder: It means I don’t know.
Questioner: [expletive]
In reading the Wikipedia article on the Who’s on first sketch, it points to a cognitive bias we often have — The Curse of knowledge. Many times, we act on the assumption that other people can understand our response.
It takes constant vigilant empathy to understand that when we’re responding to someone, they might not understand our response. Generally, it is our responsibility to help others understand what we’re saying. Taken to the extreme, this can come off as “mansplaining” or condescending, but if nuanced, it can be really helpful. It’s a nuance that we’ll need to teach the next AI.
