Summary
Hidden assumptions are the unstated beliefs a system runs on, the things people inside it rarely think to question. The phrase is everyday English; here it comes from foresight researcher Thomas Klaffke’s Reframing Canvas, where it is one of five things to map about how a topic is currently framed, alongside jargon, symbols, metrics and metaphors. His prompt is to surface “the unstated beliefs or taken-for-granted logics that drive this system”, including beliefs about who counts and who’s left out.
In his worked example on household food waste, the assumption that abundance means security and care gives way, once reframed, to the idea that sharing beats hoarding.
Rationale
Part 1 defines a deep disposition as “an underlying unconscious assumption about who we are”. Klaffke’s are the same sort of thing at smaller scale, tied to one topic: a practical place to start noticing.