Question

According to Pinker, what is the "curse of knowledge" as it pertains to writing? State at least two strategiesyou can use to avoid this "curse" and strengthen your writing.- Curse of knowledge is the chief contributor to opaque writing. It is having a hard time knowing what it is like for someone else not to know something that you know. The two strategies you can use to avoid this "curse" are strengthening your writing skills by explicitly keeping in mind "the reader over your shoulder" and showing a draft to a representative reader.

Answer 1

Answer: The curse of knowledge is assuming that your readers have the same knowledge that you do.

Explanation:

Piner, a linguist described the curse of knowledge as the use of hackneyed phrases, industry jargon and a passive voice. If a writer does not consider the possibility of a varied audience, he risks confusing them. In practice, an example is stating strategies to use to avoid the curse of knowledge without describing what the curse is.

The solution to this problem in writing is to have a representative reader who can give feedback to the writer and help him/her understand if their writing is opaque or not. Another solution is revising our writing several times while aiming for clarity.