Nobody knows a damn what he does or Three types of knowledge
I stumbled recently for a curious article titled "No One Knows What the F *** They're Doing (or The 3 Types of Knowledge)" . More specifically, this article was sent to us by our project manager. I present to you my translation of this article.
(I tried to convey the expressive title as closely as possible - but it still didn’t work out, I would be happy to get suggestions on how to convey it more accurately).
Have you ever won a prize or reward for any achievements, even though you have no idea what you are doing? Do you feel like a deceiver, not understanding what kind of voodoo-witch you woke to make people think that you know what you are doing, although in reality everything is exactly the opposite?
Recently, I talked to my girlfriend (she is studying as a nurse) and she shared with me her embarrassment about some reward that her professor presented to her. He told her that she was the best student he had in recent years. “How can this be?” She asked me. Judge for yourself: sometimes she had difficulties with her studies, she often worried that she would get a bad mark on exams, often stress because she didn’t fully understand or could not remember any things. At the same time, she sees that the others approach the exams easily and confidently, never ask questions, and it is always clear from them that they catch everything instantly. How can it be that she is “the best student in recent years”?
')
It was evident that she was not alarmed in earnest, but to her happiness, I was next. One of many such incidents happened to me just about a year ago. I participated in the entrepreneurs competition “Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest”, which is a competition of business plans for new business ideas and promising companies. That year I did not win. About 500 participants from more than 100 companies participated in the competition. During the awards ceremony, they suddenly announced that they were introducing a new “Reward for the Spirit of Entrepreneurship”, which will now be received by someone who has demonstrated other qualities of a good entrepreneur better than others than simply writing a good business plan. And the winner in this nomination recognized me. I was shocked, confused and amazed at the same time. If they had said my name half a second earlier, then a man in front of me would get a powerful charge of Coca-Cola in his hair.
How could I get this award, being among many cool entrepreneurs and many delightful companies and business ideas? After all, among them were companies that already brought millions of dollars annually (by convention, companies that brought less than $ 3 million a year were allowed to enter the competition)! I, in turn, did not even earn enough to quit my job. I had to tell lies that I was going to see a doctor in order to attend the award ceremony. After all, these people better than me should understand what they are doing!
The answer to this question is the headline: no one really knows a damn what he is doing. Neither I, nor the people who manage the bank, nor anyone else.
To better understand that no one really has a clue what he is doing, we need to understand 3 fundamental types of information.
There is “crap you know”, “crap about which you know you don’t know it” and “crap about which you don’t know you don’t know it” (here I tried to reproduce the term “ shit ", used by the author - comment of the translator ).
Note: the proportions are not met, in fact, the red part is simply unimaginably large.
As an example of “crap that you know,” you can bring your knowledge that you can safely eat an apple if you suddenly pass by the apple tree.
As an example of "crap, about which you know that you do not know it," you can cite these berries, about which you do not know whether they are edible. As a result, you either choose a safe path and walk past, or decide to eat one, see if it will become bad for you, and if it doesn’t, eat more.
As an example of “crap, about which you do not know that you do not know it”, imagine that you grew up in a completely safe environment, and you were never told that plants can be poisonous. Having lost yourself in the forest, you will most likely just start eating everything as soon as you get hungry, without any hesitation. And most likely you will soon fall sick or die from dysentery or poisoning.
So, from the examples above it becomes clear that the most dangerous category is “crap, about which you do not know that you do not know it” (except for extreme situations, when only the first category of “crap that you know” can save you). All this applies to any profession.
If I am an engineer building a bridge, then I know that when choosing materials I have to take into account the climate of the area in which the bridge is being built. This is what I know . I may not know exactly how climate affects the ultimate loads of materials, but I can always clarify this. This is what I know I do not know . However, if I were a veterinarian and someone would ask me to build a bridge, I might even have no idea that different materials are influenced by various environmental factors. This may be what I do not know, I do not know . And it is quite possible that because of this, someone will die.
In the case of my girlfriend, let's say she is a nurse who must prescribe a medicine to a patient. If she knows that the prescribed drug conflicts with another drug that the patient is taking, then she knows that this drug cannot be prescribed. If she remembers that the drug has 20 side effects and often reacts to other medications, she knows that before you prescribe it, you need to check with someone who knows exactly (for example, the doctor). The only dangerous scenario is that when she knows, she doesn’t know that there may be some incompatibilities and side effects, and she writes without any ulterior motive. That is, again we come to the fact that the only dangerous category is “crap, about which we do not know, that we do not know it”.
According to this principle, “wisdom” can be defined as “the ability not to be dangerous.” So what is the point of education and experience? Your professors and teachers (and the classical exam structure) convince you that you should shove as much information as possible into the “crap you know” category.
I would venture to suggest that this is not true. The goal is not to shove as much information as possible into the first category, but to exclude as much information as possible from the third category.
It will go into the first category or the second - not so important. The main thing is that it is no longer in the third category. That is, the goal is to be harmless.
This is where the disconnect occurs. That is why you, my dear girl, and also myself sometimes feel like deceivers, receiving awards and recognition. We feel that we have no idea what we are doing, but we see others who are confident and capable of doing something. After all, it is they who deserve awards and recognition!
This is where the secret lies. All of these “other people” fall into two categories, but none of them is more “knowledgeable” or “able” than you:
Note that the second type of people is dangerous twice. On the one hand, they have a much more impressive third category. They can be compared with the classic stereotype of a teenager who thinks he knows everything and does not understand how much more needs to be learned. However, unlike adolescents, they have a desire to convince others that they know what they are doing, which makes others rely on them. In the case when such people become responsible in a certain area, the situation looks like they know how to handle all this. Well, of course, since such people think that they know what they are doing, they most likely will not specify and verify anything (unlike people who know that they do not know). As you know, they are much more dangerous than teenagers in their beliefs.
The real reason why you feel like a cheat is that you have successfully transferred a lot of information from the third category to the second, and you know about many things that you do not know. The positive side of this is that you become less dangerous. The negative side is that it often makes you feel dull and helpless.
I hope this will help you if you suddenly feel confused, feeling the contradiction between your abilities and what other people say about your abilities. If you find yourself in a situation where you do not know what to do, do not be afraid to ask for help. Do not be ashamed that you do not understand something, even if it seems to you that these are some obvious things. If you do not understand this, then they are not so obvious, simple and understandable.
And if you never feel that you do not understand something, and you always know everything better than others, tell me in advance so that I know how dangerous you are.
(I tried to convey the expressive title as closely as possible - but it still didn’t work out, I would be happy to get suggestions on how to convey it more accurately).
Feel like a cheater
Have you ever won a prize or reward for any achievements, even though you have no idea what you are doing? Do you feel like a deceiver, not understanding what kind of voodoo-witch you woke to make people think that you know what you are doing, although in reality everything is exactly the opposite?
Recently, I talked to my girlfriend (she is studying as a nurse) and she shared with me her embarrassment about some reward that her professor presented to her. He told her that she was the best student he had in recent years. “How can this be?” She asked me. Judge for yourself: sometimes she had difficulties with her studies, she often worried that she would get a bad mark on exams, often stress because she didn’t fully understand or could not remember any things. At the same time, she sees that the others approach the exams easily and confidently, never ask questions, and it is always clear from them that they catch everything instantly. How can it be that she is “the best student in recent years”?
')
It was evident that she was not alarmed in earnest, but to her happiness, I was next. One of many such incidents happened to me just about a year ago. I participated in the entrepreneurs competition “Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest”, which is a competition of business plans for new business ideas and promising companies. That year I did not win. About 500 participants from more than 100 companies participated in the competition. During the awards ceremony, they suddenly announced that they were introducing a new “Reward for the Spirit of Entrepreneurship”, which will now be received by someone who has demonstrated other qualities of a good entrepreneur better than others than simply writing a good business plan. And the winner in this nomination recognized me. I was shocked, confused and amazed at the same time. If they had said my name half a second earlier, then a man in front of me would get a powerful charge of Coca-Cola in his hair.
How could I get this award, being among many cool entrepreneurs and many delightful companies and business ideas? After all, among them were companies that already brought millions of dollars annually (by convention, companies that brought less than $ 3 million a year were allowed to enter the competition)! I, in turn, did not even earn enough to quit my job. I had to tell lies that I was going to see a doctor in order to attend the award ceremony. After all, these people better than me should understand what they are doing!
The answer to this question is the headline: no one really knows a damn what he is doing. Neither I, nor the people who manage the bank, nor anyone else.
3 types of knowledge
To better understand that no one really has a clue what he is doing, we need to understand 3 fundamental types of information.
There is “crap you know”, “crap about which you know you don’t know it” and “crap about which you don’t know you don’t know it” (here I tried to reproduce the term “ shit ", used by the author - comment of the translator ).
Note: the proportions are not met, in fact, the red part is simply unimaginably large.
Imagine that you are lost in the forest.
As an example of “crap that you know,” you can bring your knowledge that you can safely eat an apple if you suddenly pass by the apple tree.
As an example of "crap, about which you know that you do not know it," you can cite these berries, about which you do not know whether they are edible. As a result, you either choose a safe path and walk past, or decide to eat one, see if it will become bad for you, and if it doesn’t, eat more.
As an example of “crap, about which you do not know that you do not know it”, imagine that you grew up in a completely safe environment, and you were never told that plants can be poisonous. Having lost yourself in the forest, you will most likely just start eating everything as soon as you get hungry, without any hesitation. And most likely you will soon fall sick or die from dysentery or poisoning.
So, from the examples above it becomes clear that the most dangerous category is “crap, about which you do not know that you do not know it” (except for extreme situations, when only the first category of “crap that you know” can save you). All this applies to any profession.
If I am an engineer building a bridge, then I know that when choosing materials I have to take into account the climate of the area in which the bridge is being built. This is what I know . I may not know exactly how climate affects the ultimate loads of materials, but I can always clarify this. This is what I know I do not know . However, if I were a veterinarian and someone would ask me to build a bridge, I might even have no idea that different materials are influenced by various environmental factors. This may be what I do not know, I do not know . And it is quite possible that because of this, someone will die.
In the case of my girlfriend, let's say she is a nurse who must prescribe a medicine to a patient. If she knows that the prescribed drug conflicts with another drug that the patient is taking, then she knows that this drug cannot be prescribed. If she remembers that the drug has 20 side effects and often reacts to other medications, she knows that before you prescribe it, you need to check with someone who knows exactly (for example, the doctor). The only dangerous scenario is that when she knows, she doesn’t know that there may be some incompatibilities and side effects, and she writes without any ulterior motive. That is, again we come to the fact that the only dangerous category is “crap, about which we do not know, that we do not know it”.
Wisdom and the Art of Being Safe
According to this principle, “wisdom” can be defined as “the ability not to be dangerous.” So what is the point of education and experience? Your professors and teachers (and the classical exam structure) convince you that you should shove as much information as possible into the “crap you know” category.
I would venture to suggest that this is not true. The goal is not to shove as much information as possible into the first category, but to exclude as much information as possible from the third category.
It will go into the first category or the second - not so important. The main thing is that it is no longer in the third category. That is, the goal is to be harmless.
All the same, no damn know, like you. And even less.
This is where the disconnect occurs. That is why you, my dear girl, and also myself sometimes feel like deceivers, receiving awards and recognition. We feel that we have no idea what we are doing, but we see others who are confident and capable of doing something. After all, it is they who deserve awards and recognition!
This is where the secret lies. All of these “other people” fall into two categories, but none of them is more “knowledgeable” or “able” than you:
- They understand everything that is written here and therefore they are “on the same field with you”. They deserve all this no more (but not less) than you. They (and you) have a rather impressive second category of knowledge “crap, about which you know that you do not know it”. Plus, they (and you) can only remotely imagine how huge the third area is “crap, about which we don’t know, we don’t know it” (since it’s impossible in principle to know the volume of things you don’t know). At the same time, it is quite easy to estimate how small the category of “crap you know” is. This is what makes them (and you) sometimes feel that you don’t know anything at all.
- They "reasonably" think they know everything. But in fact - do not know. Such people are usually very selfish (not to be confused with the simple healthy feeling of their “ego”) and do not understand how little they know. In other words, their third category is much larger than yours, and the second is much smaller. The first category is more or less the same.
Note that the second type of people is dangerous twice. On the one hand, they have a much more impressive third category. They can be compared with the classic stereotype of a teenager who thinks he knows everything and does not understand how much more needs to be learned. However, unlike adolescents, they have a desire to convince others that they know what they are doing, which makes others rely on them. In the case when such people become responsible in a certain area, the situation looks like they know how to handle all this. Well, of course, since such people think that they know what they are doing, they most likely will not specify and verify anything (unlike people who know that they do not know). As you know, they are much more dangerous than teenagers in their beliefs.
Why do you feel like a cheater
The real reason why you feel like a cheat is that you have successfully transferred a lot of information from the third category to the second, and you know about many things that you do not know. The positive side of this is that you become less dangerous. The negative side is that it often makes you feel dull and helpless.
Relax, be realistic, you will succeed!
I hope this will help you if you suddenly feel confused, feeling the contradiction between your abilities and what other people say about your abilities. If you find yourself in a situation where you do not know what to do, do not be afraid to ask for help. Do not be ashamed that you do not understand something, even if it seems to you that these are some obvious things. If you do not understand this, then they are not so obvious, simple and understandable.
And if you never feel that you do not understand something, and you always know everything better than others, tell me in advance so that I know how dangerous you are.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/86269/
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