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🔬 Science
Why We Overestimate How Well We Understand the World
The "illusion of explanatory depth" is a cognitive bias in which people believe they understand complex systems far better than they actually do. The effect is exposed when someone tries to explain in detail how something works — such as a toilet flush or a bicycle — and discovers their knowledge is far shallower than assumed. The piece draws on cognitive science research into this mental shortcut.
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