Thanks, discussing it has helped a lot. I think my confusion was in thinking the axes are exclusive, but of course an explanation can be general and permanent.
Can it be general and temporary? Everyone is driving like madmen today!
Or specific and permanent? Damn it, my car is always breaking down!
Yep. The specificity depends on the framing ("everyone is driving" generalizes over individual drivers, but is specific to the set of drivers - it excludes people in offices, at home, at sea, etc). But that's a different confusion :-) and maybe the explanation includes the frame (and thus fully defines the specificity with respect to it), and framing is an important tool for changing one's interpretation from pessimistic to optimistic.
Can it be general and temporary? Everyone is driving like madmen today!
Or specific and permanent? Damn it, my car is always breaking down!
Yep. The specificity depends on the framing ("everyone is driving" generalizes over individual drivers, but is specific to the set of drivers - it excludes people in offices, at home, at sea, etc). But that's a different confusion :-) and maybe the explanation includes the frame (and thus fully defines the specificity with respect to it), and framing is an important tool for changing one's interpretation from pessimistic to optimistic.