Communications Process Overcoming the curse of knowledge in our own writing and speaking Polymath and all around bright guy, Steven Pinker, says that the number one phenomena that keeps us from communicating clearly is the "curse of knowledge." It’s a common cognitive bias. It means that "when you know something, it's extraordinarily difficult to know what it's like not to know it. Your own knowledge seems so obvious that you're apt to think that everyone else knows it, too." He’s identified four strategies to help overcome this widespread condition.  (Thanks Paul.) Article: Harvard Psychologist Steven Pinker: The No. 1 Communication Mistake That Even Smart People Make