Recognizing the universal

As a writer of contemporary work, I try to keep an eye on what I like to call writing the universal.  What is that exactly?  Well, for me it's like trying to tap into the universal hive mind of my readers so I can hit a trigger with them without lengthy explanation and keep moving forward. For instance, if I mention using chewing gum and a paperclip to MacGyver my way into hotwiring a car, I don't have to explain who MacGyver is or go on about the intricacies of how I'm exactly hotwiring the car