Illusion of Explanatory Depth
Posted on November 17, 2006 Comments (11)
The “Illusion of Explanatory Depth”: How Much Do We Know About What We Know? (broken link was removed)
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I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if it turns out that the illusion of explanatory depth leads many researchers down the wrong path, because they think they understand something that lies outside of their expertise when they don’t.
Great stuff. It took me a lot longer to stop asking why, why, why than most kids. I only gave up after years of repeated obvious clues that I was not suppose to ask why (once I aged past 5 or 8 or something – I actually have no idea when it is no longer desired). But most days I, curious cat, want to ask how does that work, why do we do that, why can’t we… I just stop myself. But it does mean I asked myself and realized I don’t really know. So I am at least more aware how little I really know, I think I am anyway.
The internet is a great thing. Google doesn’t mind if you ask as many questions as you want.
Related: Theory of Knowledge – Feed your Newborn Neurons
Categories: Health Care, Students
Tags: curiouscat, illusion, kids, learning, scientific literacy, why
11 Responses to “Illusion of Explanatory Depth”
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November 25th, 2006 @ 5:04 pm
It is important to understand the systemic weaknesses in how we think in order to improve our thought process. We must question (more often than we believe we need to) especially when looking to improve on how things are done…
January 4th, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
[…] Great. I remember such discussions with Dad (Chemical Engineering professor). The only danger I saw was him getting tied of -why, why?, why? (when I was older). And sometimes giving me answers the teacher didn’t like (a way of doing math problems that wasn’t the way my teacher was teaching). […]
March 11th, 2008 @ 1:56 am
Very interesting question, John. I have two kids and ask me all the time how stuff works. I really thought I knew more than I actually know.
July 17th, 2008 @ 8:15 pm
This is another example of how tricky it is to predict financial markets. I am a bit surprised for relatively longer periods (like a year) the professionals do so poorly.,,
December 9th, 2008 @ 3:24 pm
Correlation is not causation. And reporting of the form, “1 time this happened” and so I report it as though it is some relevant fact, is sad…
December 29th, 2008 @ 7:49 pm
In a world where rigorous evidence from scientific research languishes unpublicised, the media continued to churn out bogus wacky science stories…
October 28th, 2011 @ 5:30 am
Once you get them used to thinking and looking things up they will start to do this on their own. A lot of this just requires thinking (no need to look things up – once a certain base knowledge is achieved). But you need to set that pattern. And it would help if you were curious, thought and learned yourself…
February 13th, 2012 @ 6:59 pm
In my opinion, we currently do a pretty good job, sadly, of discouraging kids as much as we can. So reducing those barriers is key, then we need to actually build ways that help kids…
May 23rd, 2013 @ 1:12 pm
[…] The Neuroscience of Deming – Illusion of Explanatory Depth – Nobody Gives a Hoot About […]
July 17th, 2013 @ 9:14 am
[…] Writing your own blog is the very best online way to create a brand for yourself (and to learn and grow). Given the workplace today, and how the future seems likely to unfold, building your own brand is a valuable career tool. Writing your own blog also builds your understanding of the topic. As you put your thoughts into words you have to examine them and often build a more complete understanding yourself before you can write about it. […]
July 8th, 2014 @ 10:22 pm
[…] an unlikely hypothesis. Exploratory learning comes naturally to young children, says Gopnik. Adults, on the other hand, jump on the first, most obvious solution and doggedly stick to it, even i…. That’s inflexible, narrow thinking. “We think the moral of the study is that maybe […]