“Good” is calibrated to the implicit mapping between “actual merit” and “what the patron would say now” in that context.
It’s just like when you ask someone how they’re doing. It’s not a lie (I claim) to say, “I’m doing fine”, even if lots of things in your life suck and are stressing you out, because such a response is interpreted differently than a serious “life analysis” inquiry, and the person asking the question knows this and therefore is not deceived.
I wouldn’t say it’s “taboo”, but rather, a case of using slightly different language in some situations that (knowingly, knowably) conceals a lot of information.
“Good” is calibrated to the implicit mapping between “actual merit” and “what the patron would say now” in that context.
It’s just like when you ask someone how they’re doing. It’s not a lie (I claim) to say, “I’m doing fine”, even if lots of things in your life suck and are stressing you out, because such a response is interpreted differently than a serious “life analysis” inquiry, and the person asking the question knows this and therefore is not deceived.
I wouldn’t say it’s “taboo”, but rather, a case of using slightly different language in some situations that (knowingly, knowably) conceals a lot of information.