Curse of Knowledge

How do you explain a puzzle when you take for granted the pieces that create it? In Made to Stick, authors Dan and Chip Heath refer to this predicament as the "Curse of Knowledge."

Consider your area of expertise. If you're a dentist, root canals and crowns make up your language of impact. It likely doesn't occur to you that a patient may have no idea what those procedures involve. If you're a real estate agent, and a home inspector finds radon or termites, you have experiential knowledge about what those conditions imply and the steps required to resolve the issues. A new home buyer may have heard these terms, just as the dental patient had, but until it became personal, they held no real interest or meaning.

When I started an internship as a funeral director, my job description was "do whatever they tell you." Okay, but what are they saying??? "Park the hearse at the point." Do you know what that means? I didn't. The funeral home was located in Kenmore Square, positioned between Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street, where the streets meet - "the point." Ah....easy when someone tells you, not so easy when you're a new, diligent employee and you wonder how you went through two years of school and missed "the point!"

The Consciousness Collaborative is currently faced with its own curse of knowledge. A defining criteria for membership is the ability to "be present" with each client and engage in "personal growth work" to foster this "presence." Parenting Consultant, Beth Sutton calls this "in-house" language. She's absolutely right! Teasing apart the meaning of this shorthand, enables the public to understand how we are different - special - and uniquely talented. I mentioned presence and personal growth work. For fun, I'll break down the latter.

Personal growth work - the process of learning about one's "personal beliefs" - noticing where they came from, when they were learned, and asking if those beliefs still fit now?

Personal beliefs - the assumptions one makes about oneself and the way things are

For example, I used to believe that "eventually everyone gets dentures - someday I'll have them, too."

I thought this to be true because my grandmother always had them...she was old, and I figured that must be what happens to everyone eventually. When I was about three, I remember seeing those fake teeth sitting in a murky glass of water and wondering when I'd be able to take my teeth out. Combined with a lack of dental interest in my family (light on check-ups and cleanings), I had no other information to contradict my belief.

Does this belief still fit now? No! I've learned that dentures make it harder to eat, and impact the taste of food (which I remember my grandmother complaining about - although I never put it together with her teeth), and those are just the inconveniences. I've learned of a raft of other implications that inspire me to reach for the floss a little more often.

Does this seem unimportant? I'll admit, I didn't choose the juiciest of examples, but the process is the same. What are your assumptions about money, love, and success? Exploring your own beliefs, noticing how they impact your life, and then becoming empowered to choose differently - if the shoe no longer fits - that's "personal growth work."

Consider multiplying this one long diatribe by an entire "in-house" vocabulary. Whew! We've got our work cut out for us. I'll tell you, though, we're dedicated to breaking down the concepts of "consciousness" into bite-sized pieces - not because you're not incredibly smart (we know you are!), but because if we don't explain the parts, you too, might miss "the point!"

With simplicity,
Joanne Lutz