{"id":6880,"date":"2022-08-08T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T14:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.allaboutlearningpress.com\/?p=6880"},"modified":"2022-08-08T10:23:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T15:23:54","slug":"curse-of-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.allaboutlearningpress.com\/curse-of-knowledge\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid the “Curse of Knowledge” as You Teach"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Scientist

Have you ever noticed that when you know a lot about a subject, it can actually be harder to teach someone else about it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n

This is a common problem, and it’s called the curse of knowledge<\/span>. The curse refers to the idea that the more you know about a subject, the harder it can be to transfer that knowledge to someone who has limited knowledge of the subject.1<\/sup><\/p>\r\n\r\n

For instance, a brilliant physicist who studies atomic collisions may have a difficult time trying to explain basic atoms and molecules to a high school student.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Here's an example that might hit closer to home \u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Your Aunt Sally knows how to bake the perfect pie crust. In fact, she\u2019s done it so often she doesn\u2019t even need a recipe. She just does it by feel. If you ask her to teach you, she\u2019ll probably say something like, \u201cJust keep adding water until it feels right\u201d or \u201cKnead the dough until it\u2019s the perfect consistency.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Not very helpful, is it?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\"pie\r\n\r\n

As delicious as Aunt Sally\u2019s pies are, she\u2019s suffering from the curse of knowledge. Her knowledge may help her<\/em> make a great pie, but it has become a curse to the process of teaching you<\/em> to make a great pie. Sadly, if she can\u2019t learn to overcome the curse of knowledge, the art of the perfect pie crust may never move beyond Aunt Sally\u2019s kitchen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

But the curse of knowledge isn\u2019t just Aunt Sally\u2019s problem. It may be your problem as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Why It\u2019s Critical to Defeat the Curse of Knowledge<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

As you know, teaching your child to read and spell is one of the most important jobs you will ever do. But if you don\u2019t overcome the curse of knowledge, you may encounter all kinds of obstacles:<\/p>\r\n\r\n