
Self-Perceived Expertise Predicts Claims of Impossible Knowledge [pdf] - espeed
http://emilkirkegaard.dk/en/wp-content/uploads/When-knowledge-knows-no-bounds.pdf
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dang
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10790284](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10790284)
is related.

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jsprogrammer
How can the authors claim exclusive knowledge of all word combinations? An
individual could have independently produced a concept or could have knowledge
of a concept with a similar or exact name that the authors chose (at random?
[from predefined list?]). How can the authors rule out such possibilities?

It would be interesting to see free responses after asking to explain a
particular 'non-existent' concept.

~~~
lolc
The terms they chose do not have a well-defined meaning. I trust them on that.
It is easy to verify by asking an expert whether that term has a meaning in
their field. One can try and guess from the words what the meaning of an
unknown expression is, but to claim any familiarity with the concept is
deceiving oneself. Even if the term had a meaning to you you would still have
to get others to agree to that meaning.

I find it unlikely that the meaning attributed to the made-up terms would have
made a substantial discussion possible. Either the participants would have to
define their mutual understanding of the term first or there would be a lot of
hand-waving and disagreement.

Just because you can come up with meaning for a term does not guarantee that
somebody else will agree to it. Once you're sufficiently proficient in an
area, you realize how much guessing is involved when people try to make sense
of unfamiliar terms. If you think you haven't done this, think again. It's
actually part of how we learn.

> It would be interesting to see free responses after asking to explain a
> particular 'non-existent' concept.

I agree to that. And fun.

