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illusion of explanatory depth
Your brain hides its lack of preparation from you.
A 2002 study showed that people believe they have a deeper understanding of complex mechanical devices than they actually possess.
Participants were asked to explain how things like zippers or toilets work. Their confidence plummeted only after they were forced to write down the step-by-step mechanism and realized they could not.
You know less about your daily environment than you assume.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Rozenblit and Keil, 2002, Cognitive Science
- What the check found
- The claim accurately reflects the findings and methodology of the 2002 Rozenblit and Keil study on the illusion of explanatory depth.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.