Assumed knowledge

The level of assumed knowledge in many situations, be they professional or social, is often unreasonably high given the diversity of such situations and hence the collective total of what would be considered assumed knowledge in at least one situation.

Why is this a problem?

Conversational awkwardness at the least. At worst, fear of asking questions leads to lack of knowledge transfer. And absence of knowledge leads to poor decision-making and mistakes.

Solutions

Only engage with people with the same knowledge base. This is almost impossible to achieve, and undesirable due to the cross-fertilisation value of multi-disciplinary interaction.

Greater cultural acceptance of diverse knowledge bases, possibly driven by explicit education on the matter in the formal education system.