 Finally, whether we approach defaults through distributional computational semantics, theoretical truth-conditional semantics, post-Gricean pragmatics, or some version of a combined view, progress in research on defaults in human reasoning will necessarily require progress in technology. No matter how powerful our theories are, they will have to be tested either on large corpora, or through neuroimaging: more traditional methods of psycholinguistic experiments or small databases will always leave a wide margin of doubt as to ‘is it really how human reasoning works’? If there are big generalizations to be made regarding how we jump to conclusions, these will have to be modern equivalents of the 19th century phenomenological ideas, founded on intentionality of mental states, informativeness of acts of communication, all predicted by assumed efficiency (but not necessarily cooperation), but with access to modern methods of empirical corroboration (or falsification).