Daniel J. Boorstin

Next time you experience a tip-of-the-tongue state, don't retrieve the information from memory. Instead, look up the correct answer. Repeat it a few times or write it down to help with encoding.

People that experience the tip-of-the-tongue state often suffer from incorrect practice time. Instead of learning the correct work, they are learning the mistake itself. For example, some music students who claim to practice diligently can get worse over time. This is because they keep on repeating the same mistakes, instead of using deliberate practice. They actually train themselves to make mistakes.

The negative effects of the curse of knowledge can be avoided by:

1. Questioning your assumptions and biases, and seeking alternatives to your beliefs for a broader perspective.
2. Knowing your audience or prospect, accessing their level of knowledge.
3. Asking honest feedback for your creations.
4. Including infographics and visuals and minimizing jargon.

The Feynman Technique is a way to understand or reinforce your level of knowledge by pretending to explain the same to a child.

Explaining without the use of complicated words is a way to learn and retain knowledge that lasts.

• Excessive dancing, meditation, and mind-altering plants were used in ancient civilizations to modulate the activity of the mind.
• In 1892, the term "altered states of consciousness" was used to refer to hypnosis.
• William James introduced the scientific investigation of mystical experiences and drug-induced states into the field of psychology.

• Pharmacological. These altered states include short-term changes caused by psychoactive substances, such as LSD MDMA, cannabis, cocaine, opioids, and alcohol.
• Psychological. Hypnosis, meditation, and music can lead to altered mental states.
• Physical and physiological. An altered state of consciousness is achieved through sleep, where dreams dissociate one from reality.
• Pathological. A traumatic experience causing brain damage can lead to an altered state of consciousness. Other sources include epileptic or psychotic episodes.
• Spontaneous. Daydreaming and mind wandering can cause altered states.