C2 English Reading Practice: The Illusion of Explanatory Depth
C2 English Reading Practice: The Illusion of Explanatory Depth Advanced Reading Series • Level C2 Proficiency The Phantom of Omniscience: Decoding the Illusion of Explanatory Depth Consider a mechanism as ostensibly mundane as a zipper. If prompted, the vast majority of reasonably educated adults will confidently assert a thorough understanding of its operational mechanics. Yet, when tasked with transposing this presumed comprehension into a granular, step-by-step causal explanation, a striking cognitive dissonance emerges. The confidence evaporates, replaced by a faltering realization that they merely understand that the device functions, rather than how . This psychological phenomenon is known in cognitive science as the Illusion of Explanatory Depth (IOED) . Humans possess an innate, highly adaptive tendency to mistake a superficial familiarity with a concept for a profound, ...