How to avoid the curse of knowledge

The more proficient we are with a topic, the harder it is to communicate with a beginner or a layman. This is due to the curse of knowledge.

If a physicist is trying to explain the movement of electrons. He would say .

Electrons move around the nucleus in probability clouds.

But, our teacher would have taught us the following.

Electrons move around the nucleus like the planet move around the sun.

The first statement was difficult to understand. The physicist assumed that the other person knew about probability clouds. Now, for him to communicate he need to put himself into the mind of a beginner. In other words he need to unlearn things which is not possible.

You can avoid the curse of knowledge by using analogies. When our teachers taught us about electrons they used the analogy of the solar system. It’s something we can relate to. The better we do this the stickier our idea gets as explained in the book Made to Stick.

Why did Jesus tell stories? Because he knew people would understand it better. They were so powerful that generations till date has passed it on.