Table of contents:
- It seems to us that others know the same as we do
- We forget about someone else's point of view
- But this can be fought
2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
Another mistake of thinking that interferes with mutual understanding.
Surely you at least once tried in vain to explain to a friend how something works. It seemed to you that you explained everything easier than ever, but he still could not get it to the end. It's not that your friend is very dumb. You are simply subject to a cognitive distortion called the curse of knowledge.
Teachers often encounter him. They forget that the level of knowledge of students is very different from their own. Therefore, they use terms and complex expressions that are not always clear to beginners. And this distortion affects us all.
It seems to us that others know the same as we do
This is precisely the fallacy of thinking called the "curse of knowledge." In 1990, psychologist Elizabeth Newton demonstrated its effects in an experiment. Within its framework, some participants had to tap the rhythm of a famous song on the table, while others had to guess its name.
And the first one had to guess what the likelihood that their tune would be guessed. On average, they named a probability of 50%. In fact, out of 120 songs, listeners guessed only three. That is, the real probability was 2.5%.
Why were expectations and reality so different? The fact is that the percussionists played the melody that they were trying to convey in their heads, and the knock on the table complemented it. It was hard for them to imagine that the song might not be recognized. But for the listeners it was some kind of incomprehensible Morse code. She said little about what was behind her. Those who have more information find it difficult to understand those who have little or no information at all.
We forget about someone else's point of view
Everyone looks at the world through the prism of their own perception. To remember that others have a different experience, you need to consciously strain. Therefore, it is difficult to teach someone what you know yourself, and even imagine that he has no idea about it. It is difficult to understand and predict his behavior when you are already "cursed" by knowledge.
For example, to a professional athlete, beginners' movements may seem ridiculous, flagrantly flawed. It's just that he has already mastered the correct technique and does not remember what it is like to act without this knowledge.
This happens in all areas. Managers and employees, marketers and clients, scientists and people to whom they explain something - all during communication suffer from information skew, like tapping out a melody and their listeners.
But this can be fought
- Remind yourself of this cognitive bias. Not everyone knows the same as you.
- Always decipher terms and difficult concepts if you are speaking at a conference or simply explaining something to non-professionals. Even if this information seems obvious to you.
- Give specific examples. Share how the idea is being implemented in real life. Give not dry facts, but stories: they are clearer and better remembered.
- Ask if everything is clear when teaching someone. Ask the person to repeat what they said in their own words.
- Put yourself in the shoes of the person you are talking to. Present his point of view and level of knowledge to better understand his reactions.
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