The Curse of Knowledge

(This is from Edition 66 of The Upleveler, our weekly smartletter)

How do you teach your grandmother to book an Uber?

Any attempt to communicate knowledge can be challenging: that's because information travels from someone who knows it, to someone who doesn't. And why is this troublesome? Because doing so requires a great deal of empathy for the latter's state of ignorance. What seems obvious to you will seem utterly confusing to the recipient. The words you use, the sequence of information, the logical steps: all seem alien.

This has a name: it's called the...

How can you overcome this? Usually, the simplest way is to concretely illustrate your point: show and tell, use examples, analogies, visuals, or prototypes. And be patient with your audience: learning something new is tough.

The same principles apply, whether at home, the office, or in a college. Now try it out!

(Read more about the Curse of Knowledge)

---

Found this useful? Subscribe to The Upleveler for more such posts.