I like your ‘reference culture’ phrase! Perfect. I think it applies universally. (Me again, working off your ideas and off I go on tangents!)

Truth, even ‘absolute’ truth, is only absolute relative to a referenced culture. For the religious, an absolute truth is absolutely true in relation to God. God is the reference culture. Similarly, for those who believe in objective reality, and thus absolute truth, that is the reference culture.

I’ve always called it ‘context,’ but in the sense we are all human, and use human language, and experience our world in a way largely consistent with that of other humans, it still works to call even something like the 'solar system' a reference culture, because it’s humans who define what ‘solar system’ means.

We can say with certainty that ‘x’ is the acceleration of gravity in that reference culture our ‘solar system.’ We can assume x is valid outside, and work our theories and findings based on that assumption, but it is an assumption, nevertheless. Or, it may be absolutely true that to see a bright red ball cap at event ‘t’ means that the wearer is (or is pretending to be) a MAGA supporter. Absolutely true in that reference culture, not necessarily outside it!

Humans and human associations, human connections, to ideas, people, language, fashion, music…on and on, that’s what ‘defines’ a reference culture.

Few understand when I say that no author writes—present tense—great literature. Authors write. But written works are read. Readers decide ‘literature.’ More than that, reading something a reference culture has deemed ‘literature’ is a different experience from reading any ol’ ‘book.’ Like the difference between going to dinner, and going to a dinner party, different expectations apply.

And so with ideas. All reference cultures include expectations regarding how ideas are presented—and names matter. We all know (or at least the emotionally mature among us know) that we don’t know everything. That’s where the ‘association’ part comes in. There is a trust element. An inclusion element. An admire element. It all plays. So, if Oprah says it’s good, then (as long as we associate goodness with Oprah) by golly, it’s good!

But whether or not we associate Oprah, or anyone or anything, with goodness or anything else, is up to us. That’s the ‘thinking for ourselves’ part!

Thanks for the read, and the association!

Take care!