[CompSci87]

Please explain default. In my old fashioned world it was akin to quitting.

In this context it means what you assume until there's evidence to the contrary. I think it comes from computer UI design, where the "default" is what the software gives you if you don't explicitly specify something different.

I just finished reading a Malcolm Gladwell book where he uses the phrase "default to truth" frequently. By that he means that people normally assume other people are telling the truth until there's a good deal of evidence to the contrary. (And that's a good thing.)

[CompSci87]

Please explain default. In my old fashioned world it was akin to quitting.

In this context it means what you assume until there's evidence to the contrary. I think it comes from computer UI design, where the "default" is what the software gives you if you don't explicitly specify something different.

I just finished reading a Malcolm Gladwell book where he uses the phrase "default to truth" frequently. By that he means that people normally assume other people are telling the truth until there's a good deal of evidence to the contrary. (And that's a good thing.)