I was 40 when I learned that when a Neurotypical person asks you "what is this?", that it's a context based question.
It's a desire to learn more about what you are doing or why you are doing it.
They are not looking for the answer "That is a hammer."
@olafurwSimilarly for "what's up", which for divers and astronauts can be a literal question, but for everyone else is understood to be asking about the state of the global temperature.
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