The Curse Of Knowledge: Others Know Less Than You Think

The curse of knowledge, curse of expertise, or expert’s curse is a bias when people who have specialized knowledge assume that others share that knowledge. It is when we assume the people we are talking to have the same level of understanding we do on a given subject. This acts as a barrier in efficient and effective knowledge sharing, as we are uncertain about what the other party genuinely knows. When we know something, it hard or nearly impossible to imagine what it would be like not knowing that piece of information.

In turn, this effect makes it difficult to share our knowledge, teach, persuade, and sell. It is difficult to communicate since we do not share the other party’s state of mind. Becoming an expert in an area means we know nuance and complexity. That’s when the curse kicks in, and we start to forget others might not know the ins and outs of our field. The curse of knowledge has broad implications in decision-making and perception of ourselves and others.

On one hand, it may seem an advantage to know more. After all, in a perfect economy, when we know more than another person, we are better informed and are therefore in a superior position. But that is not necessarily true when we assume others have that knowledge or a degree of it when they, in reality, do not. Well-informed folk assume others have the same data. Thus they give fairer deals and offers than they need to. This is also manifest in hindsight bias: we tend to assume we knew back then what we know now, hence we think an unfavorable outcome was known to be unfavorable and blame ourselves for it. Another key instance of it is in any teaching, coaching, or mentoring endeavor, as the educator assumes their students to have a level of their extensive expertise that often exceeds reality.

Generally, it is a state of cognitive misalignment. Once we attain expertise, our brain rewires itself to integrate this knowledge into our worldview. We naturally forget what it is like to be a beginner. This gap makes it difficult to explain concepts in simple terms or anticipate questions from others. Experts often have what is known as tacit knowledge—intuitive or implicit know-how—that they are unaware of. This leads to the assumption that others “just know” the same things. It manifests as jargon, skipped steps, or assumed background knowledge that is not present in the listener, leaving the latter confused and/or disengaged.

Real life implications of the curse of knowledge:

• Education: teachers overestimate their students’ familiarity with a topic, so using pre-assessments to gauge students’ knowledge and adjusting teaching methods accordingly makes sense;

• Business: leaders may use industry jargon or assume employees understand strategic decisions, which can be easily solved by translating technical or strategic terms into plain language and outlining the “Why?” behind decisions;

• Marketing: marketers may craft campaigns assuming customers know what they know, and this can be solved by using surveys or focus groups to understand the audience’s baseline knowledge;

• Software: developers often design tools assuming that the users will understand their workflows, and this can be made more accurate by conducting usability tests to identify areas of confusion and simplify interfaces;

• Writing: writers often fail to clarify terms, making content less accessible to the broader audience, the solution being to avoid jargon and define key terms.

How you might leverage the curse of knowledge as a mental model: (1) adopt a beginner’s mindset, actively placing yourself in the shoes of your audience, asking “What would I need to know if I were hearing this for the first time?” or by recalling your own early struggles; (2) simplify without oversimplifying, stripping your explanations down to their core, using analogies, metaphors, and examples to dumb complex ideas down to their roots while preserving accuracy; (3) ask for feedback after explaining, checking for understanding and stepping in where necessary; (4) use the Feynman technique, teaching the concept to someone unfamiliar with it, and if they don’t understand, you have to work on your explanation; (5) iterate, breaking information into more digestible pieces until it becomes satisfactory learning material. Specific ways to make use of the model: (1, leadership) be patient and assume your team knows nothing when explaining strategies and concepts; (2, teaching) regularly reassess whether your students have the necessary knowledge to move to the next step; (3, marketing) speak to your audience in their language, not yours; (4, learning) use the curse of knowledge by challenging yourself to explain complex topics in simple terms.

Thought-provoking insights. “What is obvious to you might be revolutionary to others.” highlights how expertise blinds you to the value of your knowledge from a beginner’s perspective. The gap between knowing and teaching shows how knowing a concept deeply doesn’t guarantee the ability to teach it, as teaching requires understanding of the learning process, not just the know-how. The illusion of transparency further reinforces this inclination, as experts believe their thought processes to be more evident than they genuinely are, overestimating how clearly they are able to communicate. Whether you’re teaching, learning, collaborating, or leading, leverage this bias to ensure your knowledge is accessible and impactful. Remember, clarity is the true test of understanding.