Sally was immersed in writing, looked up, and asked her roommates:"How do you spell embarrass?"
Nancy said"I'm not sure. I guess it should be two R and two S. "
Mary smiled smugly and said"I guess spelling isn't your thing, Nancy. The correct spelling should be e-m-b-a-r-a-s-s. There is only one r. "
By this time, Sally had already opened her dictionary and said, "We'd better look it up, two Rs and two S's, you're right, Nancy." "
Looking at this situation, I am quite confused. Mary thinks she knows the correct answer, but it is actually the wrong answer;Nancy wasn't sure, but the answer was right.
What exactly is cognition?
There is a lot of confusion about cognition, which can be summarized as follows:
The first state: realize that you know.Nancy was in the third state, not realizing she knew.The second state: realizing that you don't know.
The third state: not realizing that you know.
The fourth state: not realizing that you don't know, it's a state of ignorance and fearlessness.
Mary was in the fourth state and didn't realize she didn't know, but she thought she knew.
That's the confusion about cognition. Mary thinks she knows the answer, but her answer is wrong. Nancy wasn't sure about her answer, but she was right.
In fact, this seemingly clear cognitive phenomenon is not so simple. This was the case with Mary, who thought she was confident in the answer and no longer had any doubts or confusions. However, she failed to realize that she still had cognitive biases in uncharted territory. After all, her self-confidence didn't lead to the right results.
This chapter delves into what cognition is.