You Don’t Know What You Think You Know: The Illusion of Knowledge Explained

It’s easy to mistake recognizing a word or concept for truly understanding it. Many people overestimate their knowledge simply because something feels familiar. This illusion of knowledge is widespread and can lead to costly mistakes.

For example, someone may feel confident about how their car engine works because they know the names of parts like pistons or spark plugs. Yet, when asked to explain the function or process, their understanding is often shallow.

This gap between familiarity and comprehension affects experts too. Overestimating knowledge can cause strategic failures in business, policy, and personal decisions.

The antidote is humility and curiosity: admitting what we don’t know and striving to learn more deeply. Lifelong learning and questioning assumptions help guard against the illusion of knowledge.

Next, we’ll explore how confusing correlation with causation further distorts our understanding of the world.