"This is the Curse of Knowledge: Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has "cursed" us. And it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can't readily re-create our listeners' state of mind." (Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, page 20) Wow--this is useful stuff. Here are some possible implications for churches of the curse of knowledge:
- The curse of knowledge makes many Sunday morning sermons irrelevant to the listener.
- The curse of knowledge makes the church bulletin unhelpful to the newcomer. In fact, the curse of knowledge is the reason we call it a "bulletin" instead of a program guide.
- The curse of knowledge keeps us from hanging signs that will actually get someone to the bathroom.
- The curse of knowledge assumes that people today will love the songs we grew up with.
- The curse of knowledge puts blinders on our eyes when trying to communicate something that seems so simple to us.
- The curse of knowledge causes us to be task driven and look past the people around you.
