Feltz,A.
Cokely,E.T.

Although ignorance and uncertainty are usually unwelcome feelings, they have unintuitive advantages for both human and non-human animals, which we review here. We begin with the perils of too much information: expertise and knowledge can come with illusions (and delusions) of knowing. We then describe how withholding information can counteract these perils: providing people with less information enables them to judge more precisely what they know and do not know, which in turn enhances long-term memory. Data are presented from a new experiment that illustrates how knowing what we do not know can result in helpful choices and enhanced learning. We conclude by showing that ignorance can be a virtue, as long as it is recognized and rectified. ?? 2009 Elsevier B.V.

Feltz, A., & Cokely, E. T. (2013). The virtues of ignorance. The Review of Philosophy and Psychology, 3, 335-350. doi:10.1007/s13164-012-0107-2 (Full text)

Publication year	2013
Document type:	Article
Publication status:	Published
External URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13164-012-0107-2 View
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