Left unacknowledged, the ‘knowledge illusion’ can stand in the way of how much students learn.
Do you know how a zipper works? Most of us assume we do. But in fact, experiments performed by psychologists reveal that when asked to explain the mechanics of a zipper, most people have no idea.
This is the “knowledge illusion” — the assumption that we understand more than we really do. In other words, we know far less than we think we do and largely rely on the knowledge of others.
Individual knowledge is ‘remarkably shallow’
Sloman and Fernbach assert that individuals possess very little detailed, complex knowledge. In fact, says Fernbach, “an individual’s knowledge store is about one gigabyte, much less than fits on a typical USB thumb drive.” Without relying on the expertise of others, we are prone to irrationality, errors and ignorance.
“We thrive despite our mental shortcomings because we live within a community of knowledge,” say the authors. “Humans rarely think for themselves; we think in groups.”
The value of humility in learning
The communal nature of intelligence and knowledge explains why individual-oriented approaches to education frequently fail. Some business schools integrate the concept of intellectual humility into their pedagogy — enabling students to become more receptive to different viewpoints and challenges to their beliefs.
At Leeds, Fernbach advocates that our students learn to:
- appreciate the gaps in their own knowledge
- value the expertise that exists in their community
- accept that leaders don’t know everything (and that’s okay)
The intriguing ideas in The Knowledge Illusion inspires the question: How do we impart the value of collective knowledge to students learning about the complex business world?
Join the discussion. Share how your school instills intellectual humility and the value of collective knowledge.
