The design of pointing

Previous discussions of pointing have largely evaded a central question: How is an act of pointing even recognized as communicative in the first place? Here I argue—building on classic and recent work in pragmatics—that pointing is designed to deviate minimally from mere attending. This basic design is found throughout the diverse universe of human pointing¬—from the most familiar, conventional forms to the most exotic and ad hoc—and may even extend to cases of pointing in non-human animals. Further, I show that this framework lights up promising avenues for further research on the emergence of communicative forms on developmental, cultural, and evolutionary timescales.