Curse of Knowledge

The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias where we assume others share our level of understanding about a topic. When you know something, it becomes extremely difficult to imagine what it’s like not knowing it. Think of it as being mentally “cursed” by your own expertise - the more you know, the harder it becomes to put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn’t possess that knowledge. It creates a gap between what you think you’re communicating and what others actually understand.

This phenomenon gained wider recognition through Elizabeth Newton’s famous tapping experiment at Stanford University in 1990. The bias affects everyone from seasoned teachers struggling to explain basic concepts to their students, to technical experts writing incomprehensible instruction manuals.

Teachers often struggle with this bias when they can’t remember what it was like to learn their subject for the first time. A math professor might find it difficult to teach first-year students because they’ve forgotten the challenges beginners face when encountering new concepts. They assume connections are apparent and will be made effortlessly, when in reality, students need much more guidance and explanation.

The curse of knowledge creates significant barriers in professional settings. When leaders announce new projects or process changes, they may struggle to provide adequate context because they’ve been discussing these changes for weeks internally. They intellectually know their audience is hearing about it for the first time, but emotionally forget that others lack the background information.

Technical experts are particularly susceptible when writing instruction manuals or explaining procedures to colleagues. They use jargon and technical terms without realizing their audience may not be familiar with them, leading to confusion and miscommunication.

The bias also affects everyday interactions. Parents might become frustrated when giving life advice to their children, assuming their accumulated wisdom is obviously valuable and applicable. They forget what it was like to be young and face those challenges for the first time.

Develop empathy for those with less knowledge. Take a step back and genuinely try to put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn’t share your expertise. Remember what it felt like when you were first learning the subject. What concepts did you struggle with? What explanations finally made things click for you?

Avoid jargon and technical terms unless you’re certain your audience understands them. This doesn’t mean “dumbing things down,” but rather starting with basics and building up from there. Even if it feels like you’re oversimplifying, it’s better to ensure understanding than to leave people confused.

Regularly check in with your audience to gauge their understanding. Ask specific questions about what makes sense and what needs clarification. Create an environment where people feel comfortable admitting when they don’t understand something.

Instead of assuming people know something, start with the assumption that they don’t know it unless you have strong evidence to the contrary. This approach helps you provide more context and build understanding from the ground up.

Large amounts of information can feel overwhelming to novices. Break complex concepts into smaller, more manageable chunks and build understanding step by step. This makes it easier for others to follow your reasoning especially when you encourage to ask questions along the way.

Imagine you’re explaining something to a five-year-old. You need to break down the information into smaller, more manageable chunks, use simple language, or introduce visuals. Maybe you can explain the topic using super-simple analogy or metaphor that anyone can grasp? Maybe you can utilize what your audience already know and build upon that? Search for the ways of explanation so simple that even a kid would understand them.

“Tappers and Listeners” is an experiment conducted by Elizabeth Newton in 1990 at Stanford University, which is a classic demonstration of how easily we overestimate what others understand.

Experiment participants were divided into two groups: tappers and listeners. The tappers received a list of well-known songs, such as “Happy Birthday” or “Jingle Bells,” and were instructed to pick one and tap out its rhythm on a table. The listeners, who did not know which song was chosen, had to guess the song based solely on the tapping they heard.

Before the listeners made their guesses, the tappers were asked to predict how likely it was that the listeners would identify the song correctly. On average, tappers estimated that their listeners would guess the song about 50% of the time. However, the actual results were dramatically different. Out of 120 songs tapped during the experiment, listeners correctly identified only three, which is a success rate of just 2.5%.

The experiment highlighted a striking gap in perception between the two groups. For the tappers, the melody was vivid in their minds as they tapped, making the rhythm seem clear and unmistakable. For the listeners, however, the tapping sounded like a series of disconnected beats, with no melody to guide them. This difference in perspective revealed how difficult it is for someone who knows something to imagine what it is like not to know it.