“The Curse of Knowledge: when we are given knowledge, it is impossible to imagine what it's like to LACK that knowledge.”― Chip Heath, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Knowledge is one of mankind's chief pursuits, and it has allowed civilization to progress from the stone age to today. Each generation uses the accumulated knowledge from the past to guide it. But can there be such a thing as too much knowledge? Can it actually cause more problems than it solves? Apparently, yes, in some cases.
The type of knowledge that reflects the Dunning-Kruger effect is one type that harms us. This famous effect says that a little bit of knowledge can fool us into thinking we're experts. Our minds become closed to further information. But none of us can be aware of the vast amount of things we don't know. Some make bold assumptions based on partial or incomplete knowledge, and are surprised when their actions fail spectacularly. This might be case where a little knowledge is more harmful that no knowledge.
Another cognitive bias, the curse of knowledge, pertains to times when we have solid knowledge, but no way to communicate it downstream. People who do the hard work to become actual experts in their fields through study, experience, and trial and error can build up an entire world of knowledge. These worlds have a special language and a community of experts who talk to each other. But then getting the rest of us to understand their knowledge becomes a struggle because they've lost the ability to empathize or understand what it's like to not know something.
People are naturally suspicious of others who claim expertise telling them what do or not do. They prefer to learn and understand for themselves before changing paths. Unfortunately, there's often a communication breakdown between experts- scientists, economists, politicians, or marketing professionals, and the rest of us. In a stratified society, communication suffers, and the curse of knowledge prevents messages from traveling and being understood and accepted. There's a disconnect that prevents leaders from understanding their base, with disastrous results. CEO's have no idea what their workers are dealing with. Politicians are so wrapped up in courting donations that they have no time to listen to the needs of voters. And scientists that are comfortable in a lab have a hard time explaining things on television to millions of viewers.
The two most dangerous disconnects today are climate change and public health. We saw the curse of knowledge in full force during the Covid epidemic. Scientists and public health professionals took months trying to nail down what the virus was capable of and how to handle it. In the meantime, wild conspiracy theories emerged. In order to communicate about masking, vaccines, and social distancing, experts had to get Americans to understand why those were necessary. That was a tall order that never quite got accomplished. Conspiracy theories are simple and emotional, and they're hard to dislodge with facts once they spread widely. Covid was scary, confusing and a serious disruption for everybody. The scientist most charged with communicating about it, Anthony Fauci, became a villain in many eyes. In the battle between emotions and facts, emotions win most of the time.
The conversation around climate change suffers the same problem. Climatologists may well understand the science behind the greenhouse effect and how carbon accumulations in the atmosphere are adding to it, but most of us don't. Their base of knowledge and wealth of statistics makes it very hard for them to imagine not understanding climate science. Thus the communication breaks down because science is tough and boring, while burning fossil fuels is fun and profitable. With fossil fuels being the basis of much of our economy today, it's to our benefit not to look too closely at what the scientists are saying.
Television meteorologists are getting harassment and death threats. So is Dr. Fauci. There are record levels of distrust between experts and people who are getting most of their information from the internet. Even worse, there is a whole subculture of "influencers" like RFK Jr who are more than willing to fan the flames of mistrust for their own fame and profit. There are no simple solutions to this. So what can we do?
Recognizing the presence of the curse of knowledge is a big step. People hate to be condescended to. They want to understand, both cognitively and emotionally. If the emotional side doesn't ring true, it overrides the cognitive side. We need expert knowledge if we are to progress to a better world. Sometimes experts are dead wrong in their predictions and they should be called out on it. But the beauty of the scientific method is that over time, the bad stuff gets disproven and the good stuff shines through.
Those wanting to overcome the curse of knowledge need a healthy dose of humility and empathy. And those needing to overcome the Dunning-Kruger curse of overconfidence need an even bigger dose. Knowledge is always evolving. It is never perfect. And it's subject to our crude emotional reactions. Somehow we must embrace our emotional beings while being open to new knowledge that may contradict our past assumptions. It's long and difficult process, but it's the only way to make sure everyone is heard and understood.
As one of my favorite authors, Adam Grant, has written, "It's hard to keep an open mind if you don't have an open heart. You don't have to agree with what people think to learn from how they think. You don't have to share their identity to be curious about what shaped it. Treating people with civility is a prerequisite for discovery."
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