Left unacknowledged, the 鈥榢nowledge illusion鈥� can stand in the way of how much students听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 鈥渒nowledge illusion鈥� 鈥� the assumption that we understand more than we really do. In other words, we know far less than we think we do and听.
Individual knowledge is 鈥榬emarkably shallow鈥�
听and听Fernbach听assert that individuals possess very little detailed, complex knowledge. In fact, says Fernbach, 鈥渁n individual鈥檚 knowledge store is about one gigabyte, much less than fits on a typical USB thumb drive.鈥� Without relying on the expertise of others, we are prone to irrationality, errors and ignorance.
鈥淲e thrive despite our mental shortcomings because we live within a community of knowledge,鈥� say the authors. 鈥淗umans rarely think for themselves; we think in groups.鈥�
The value of humility in听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 鈥� 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鈥檛 know everything (and that鈥檚 okay)
The intriguing ideas in听The Knowledge Illusion听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.
