The Illusion of Knowledge

• Whenever people think they know more than they do, they are under the influence of the illusion of knowledge. Even scientific experts can dramatically overestimate what they know. Until we are asked to produce what we know, we seem blissfully unaware of the shortcomings of our own knowledge. When approaching a project or challenge, one should spend time escaping the illusion of knowledge by finding out what they don’t know. Positive illusions do, however, allow us to take on challenges that we might shrink from if we knew the truth.

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