@philosophyminis: Do you know how a toilet works? Do you know how a zip works? Or a bicycle? On the face of it, these things are obvious because we use them all of the time. And yet, in 2002, the psychologist Rozenblit and Keil noticed something strange. They asked participants to rate how well they thought they knew how something worked, and then they got to explain that thing step by step. And what they found was that people just ran out of words. They couldn't explain it. And it turns out that this happened all of the time, and it's known as the illusion of explanatory depth. We feel we understand the world in far more detail than we actually do. You've probably watched a toilet flush a thousand times. And so, you might think you can explain the mechanism, but when you sit down to actually try, you'll get lost somewhere around the float valve. But this isn't just about everyday technologies. This is about big things like immigration, taxation, vaccines, and war. We mistake a familiarity with an understanding. We've heard these words so often that we think we understand what's going on, but as a general rule, the less somebody actually knows, the more confident they are. But there is some good news to come out of this, because the researchers found that when people are asked to explain a contentious policy or idea in real detail, and not just argue for it, they became less sure of themselves. They became more moderate and more willing to accept alternative opinions and explanations. Nobody told them that they were wrong. They just heard themselves running up against the limits of their own knowledge. So, if you meet somebody with an incredibly strong and an incredibly certain opinion, you don't need to argue or debate them. You just need to ask them calmly to explain what they think is going on.

Crown Jester :

"The most perfect barrier to learning a thing is the belief that it is already known" - Frank Herbert (Dune)

limetyger :

Still waiting to hear your explanation about how a toilet works…

Hanof :

Well jokes on him cause I grew up watching “how things worked” on tv 🙏

idek :

MANKIND :

bold of you to assume I'd get to the "float valve" 😂

Ayoni02 :

toilet works by being designed in a u shape that way, water is retained in the bowl and when flushed, the whirlpool forces the previous water and the shit in it out the other side and the remaining water is left, because of the u shape. a zip works because the zipper forces the zip, designed to be interlockable, together causing them to lock. because each lock is very close, they end up forming a nice chain bond that is fairly hard to separate a bicycle works by interlocking 2 gears with the help of a chain. at the pedal, the gears are fixed but at the wheel, the geats are designed in a way that allows it to be turned clockwise but not anticlockwise. this allows for forward pedaling but not backward. it also designed with different gear ratios allowing the pedal to move the wheel with less work. . I'm sure this isn't satisfactory but i also tried not to think too hard while writing this

Clarence :

"The limits of your language are the limits of your thoughts"

thoup :

A similar thing is applied when studying/learning! If you want to know how well you understand something, try explaining it to someone else

.jean.paul_marat :

jokes on you im a plumber and have assembled, unclogged and flushed(i had nandos not too long ago) a great many toilets

🇭🇷⚛️ :

Not to be too egoistic but I think I have a pretty good general knowledge

WuodAs!ko’s Fl!p :

you don't know how much you don't know.

Celestial dude :

I was just thinking about this effect like 2 mins ago, wth???🥸

Wok Wok :

The more you know, the more you realise how little you actually know.

CanIcallYouKate :

this is a very well known phenomenon in science. I‘m a molecular biologist and what we always did as an exercise was to explain a complex concept to a lay person. That will tell you if you thoroughly understood it or not.

Sparkles_Watson* :

Everyone goes into more depth about what interests them, why would I ask how often it rains in London, if it doesn't favor me, in fact, just thinking about the climate in London and I can already feel the rheumatism entering my bones!

G💕 :

Somebody should explain what he said cos I don’t understand

gustic :

metacognition is a rare trait after all...

RichardG :

Money is unknown to me especially virtually....I thought about it seriously once because I had funds overseas to transfer to a local bank account and I thought, since there is no physical transfer, how is it that the figures change? Agreement? Trust? I don't know, it does become confusing to me..

Hassan Saleem :

there are known knowns, known unknowns and unknowns unknowns 😅

reddead :

i actually studied how a toilet works in the past, but i dont remember exactly haha and overall, id almost always say im not sure if its not something i studied or researched

Jordan’s Acrylics :

as an autistic person, i have to know how most things work or i feel severely uncomfortable. this had made me realise i have so many more things i need to know 😭😂

Nusse.1970 🇩🇰 :

We read the same newsletter 😂

thebookjourney44 :

It works to help us and they don’t ask nothing for

RemoteControl :

100% agree and think is where universities really benefit people. Degree holders understand how these things work (or go) a little better imo.

Home Bluston :

Once you listen and understand an explanation of how something works your brain registers that you know it. However, you actually forget the explanation, but your brain continues to remember that you know it!