![]() Now that you know the curse of knowledge exists, keep an eye out for it as you edit your work. You can’t cure yourself of a bad habit if you don’t know you have one, right? Here are two simple steps to help you avoid the curse of knowledge. He’s illustrating the concept instead of blasting the audience with scientific jargon, which makes his demonstration engaging and interesting.Īim for your writing to be like the second video. He’s not using any difficult or technical language. Both of these videos attempt to explain gravity to the layperson which one is more successful?Ĭontrast that video with this high school teacher’s workshop, in which he manages to explain the complicated idea of gravity in less than 10 minutes. Here’s a prime example of the curse of knowledge. But if you use too much of it, you’ll lose your message - and your audience’s interest - in the process. Using a bit of jargon in your writing is okay, even necessary, to fully introduce someone to a new topic. But what if you need to explain industry jargon? Ok, so your grandma should be able to grasp the basic message you’re trying to convey. Introducing new concepts without drowning in jargon This simple test gives you a quick indication of whether you need to elaborate on a concept or give a little more background explanation. How close are her impressions to the message you wanted to share? After she reads it, ask her to share her understanding of the core message. Not sure if you’re suffering from the curse of knowledge or not? Here’s a simple way to find out.Ĭall your grandma and give her a piece of your writing. And as a person building my reputation based on my skill in the WordPress niche, this could be a serious obstacle in my career path. If I’m not careful, my knowledge of WordPress could actually prevent me from effectively conveying my ideas. It’s similar to Derek Halpern’s analysis of the research showing that using longer, complex words actually makes people think you’re less intelligent. In other words, people understood and enjoyed the simple approach more than the complex one. ![]() The easier to grasp the language, the more in-depth and detailed the comments were. In complex posts, readers left fewer comments and only referred to the simplest elements of the article. How did I find out? I took a look at the comments readers were leaving. But other times it stabs me right in the back.Įventually, I realized that because of my experience with WordPress, I was often failing to address those readers who don’t have the same experience - which alienates them from my writing. Most of the time, this helps me because I don’t have to look too deeply to find an idea or an angle when writing a new article. I have a number of WordPress-related articles on the web, and I published a book called WordPress 3.7 Complete. Most of my writing career revolves around WordPress. So did I - before I realized how my knowledge affected my writing career. Right about now, you may think this problem doesn’t concern you, that you know your stuff, that you’re great at explaining your subject. Your expertise allows you to speak with authority, but using jargon and advanced language will alienate readers with less experience. No matter how brilliant your writing is, it won’t matter if you don’t give your audience a chance to understand it. The curse of knowledge is the inability to see yourself in a novice’s shoes. "I just lost my girlfriend," the Nine Inch Nail star said, "Because that song isn't mine anymore.“The curse of knowledge” may sound like something out of a cheesy movie, but it’s as real as it gets - and if you’re not able to avoid it in your writing, it could hurt your business. Initially, Reznor was conflicted about the end result, describing it as "weird" and "like I was watching my girlfriend f**k somebody else." However, when he saw the music video, which paired Cash's powerful, yet fragile version to imagery of the elderly singer in the eerie environment of the House of Cash museum, Reznor realized the impact of the country legend's take on "Hurt," a cover song that has become more famous than the original. Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor was slightly more doubtful, as Radio Xnotes. "Hurt" was an intensely personal thing he had written during a period of severe depression, and he initially perceived the idea of a Johnny Cash version as "gimmicky." However, when Rubin came calling, Reznor gave his permission to cover the track, which Cash chose to interpret truthfully to his situation at the time: Instead of Reznor's young man's anguish, Cash sang "Hurt" as a man whose health was failing and who was nearing his death.
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