Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive And Others Die By Donald Hall

1120 Words5 Pages

Some may enjoy reading, while others may despise it. Why do some despise reading? Maybe because some may not know what they are reading before they begin, or maybe because the text is not interesting. Why is it essential to know what you are reading? Why are not all readings interesting? Donald Hall identifies four kinds of reading in “Four Kinds of Reading” and argues that not all reading is beneficial. In the introduction of a separate book, “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die,” Chip and Dan Heath present the six principles of “sticky” ideas. The Heaths also introduce the villain that prevents one from creating “sticky” stories: The Curse of Knowledge. Donald Hall embarks on his work by saying society has changed the way they view reading because the …show more content…

The Heaths believe that the Curse of Knowledge is the reason why some cannot create sticky ideas. The Curse of Knowledge is the psychological bind that prevents a well-informed party to view the perspective of an ill-informed party. An example may be a web developer trying to sell a website. Because the web developer is experienced, he is well-informed on the quality and functionality of the website; however, when he is trying to sell the website he must take the perspective of the buyer, who does not know the process of creating the website, the value of the website, or the amount of work dedicated to the website. Unfortunately, the web developer will always have an attachment to his knowledge of the website, and will expect the buyer to pay more than what it is worth. The truth is that one cannot unlearn something, so the Heath brothers provide the readers with two ways to defeat the Curse of Knowledge. “The first is not to learn anything. The second is to take your ideas and transform them” (20). The Heaths claim the six principles are the best weapons to beat the Curse of