Scripts

Let me tell you a simple story: John went to a restaurant. He ordered lobster. He paid the check and left.

Now let me ask you some questions about your understanding of this story: What did John eat? Did he sit down? Whom did he give money to? Why?

These questions are easy to answer. Unfortunately, your answers to them have no basis in actual fact. John may have put the lobster in his pocket. He might have been standing on one foot while eating (if he was eating). Who really knows whom he paid?

You feel we know the answer to these questions because you are relying on knowledge you have about common situations that you have encountered in your own life. What kind of knowledge is ...