factual

Illusion of explanatory depth in everyday knowledge

People hold beliefs they cannot actually justify (why brush teeth twice daily, why finish antibiotics) under an 'illusion of explanatory depth' that stops them from probing further—for example, the intuition that finishing antibiotics prevents superbugs is undermined by the observation that incomplete courses would leave the most resistant bacteria—demonstrating that we acquire interfaces to interact with the world rather than true causal models.

factualpending

Speaker

Michael Muthukrishna

Evidence Quote

you have an illusion of explanatory depth that stops you from checking further... surely finishing your course of antibiotics would have the most resistant bacteria left.

Source

255 | Michael Muthukrishna on Developing a Theory of EveryoneSean Carroll's Mindscape
Created: 6/13/2026, 12:15:31 AM

My Notes

Loading notes...