One use of this information could be to create a system-wide awareness of the context of the user.

FORBES: Startups Show How to Extend Devices Using the Cloud

To get started, he offers quizzes to determine one's "emotional style" along six dimensions: resilience, outlook, social intuition, self-awareness, sensitivity to context, and attention.

WSJ: Healthy Reader: The Emotional Life of Your Brain

Teixeira's self-awareness feels significant, given the context.

WSJ: The Truth Sets Mark Teixeira Free

But Mr. Osborne assumes an awareness of Jimmy's cultural context that most modern-day Americans simply don't have.

WSJ: Look Back in Anger | Still Angry After All These Years | Theater Review by Terry Teachout