Andrea and I recently watched a video on You Tube on something
called “Dunning–Kruger effect”.
What is the “Dunning–Kruger effect”. I don’t feel like typing so Wikipedia and Cut ‘n’
Paste, do your thing:
As described by social psychologists David Dunning and
Justin Kruger, the cognitive bias of illusory superiority results from an
internal illusion in people of low ability and from an external misperception
in people of high ability; that is, "the miscalibration of the incompetent
stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly
competent stems from an error about others."
Click here for a You Tube video on why stupid people think they're smart where Trace Dominguez examines the Dunning–Kruger effect.
To translate, people who are not really think that they are really great compared to everybody else.
Conversely, people who are really great tend to underestimate how good they really are compared to everyone else.
It’s the first part that feels really relevant. And yes, here I;m thinking of Donald Trump. But instead of me going off on a rant about how stupid this motherfucker is, click here for Welcome to “Stupid Watergate" by Dahlia Lithwick who writes about Li'l Donnie's blindingly obvious incompetence and his utter cluelessness to that incompetence.
Instead I want to talk about myself.
Well, it is my blog after all.
I tend to pendulum between two points:
1) I overwhelmingly feel that I am surrounded by mindbogglingly stupid people. It seems like takes forever for people to get to a point I got to ages ago. Why are people so incredibly blind and stupid about the gaping flaws of their own logic and beliefs? Who are these stupid people, why are there so many of them and why do I have to put of with them.
2) I am a mindbogglingly stupid person overwhelmingly surrounded by people who know what the fuck they're doing. Basic details about how to live life and get things done that everyone else seems to have figured out elude me. I'm not being outdone by expertise but by mere competency.
And some times those two points merge and I am painfully aware that the same people who are so incredibly blind and stupid about the gaping flaws of their own logic and beliefs have also worked out the basic details about how to live life and get things done.
I'm in a weird place when it comes to the Dunning–Kruger effect. I am not one to rate myself above average in many things without caveats. Yes, I am maybe smarter than the average person but how effective am I at applying the knowledge? Any ego associated with being smarter than you is immediately crushed by the certain belief that if I were on Jeopardy, I would crush my clicker with a hammer because I couldn't remember where Madagascar is when I needed to.
Alex Trebeck: "This is the location of Madagascar."
Me: "What is where is planet Earth?"
Alex Trebeck: "Sorry, we're looking for What is off the coast of East Africa."
Me: "Which is on planet Earth, am I right?"
They wouldn't accept it but technically it's true.
Anyway, I have trouble with the concept of being clueless about one's own mediocrity. I am painfully aware of it everyday. I may not have a full understanding of my strengths but I damn sure know my limitations.
For damn sure, I know there is a lot I don't know.
Instead I want to talk about myself.
Well, it is my blog after all.
I tend to pendulum between two points:
1) I overwhelmingly feel that I am surrounded by mindbogglingly stupid people. It seems like takes forever for people to get to a point I got to ages ago. Why are people so incredibly blind and stupid about the gaping flaws of their own logic and beliefs? Who are these stupid people, why are there so many of them and why do I have to put of with them.
2) I am a mindbogglingly stupid person overwhelmingly surrounded by people who know what the fuck they're doing. Basic details about how to live life and get things done that everyone else seems to have figured out elude me. I'm not being outdone by expertise but by mere competency.
And some times those two points merge and I am painfully aware that the same people who are so incredibly blind and stupid about the gaping flaws of their own logic and beliefs have also worked out the basic details about how to live life and get things done.
I'm in a weird place when it comes to the Dunning–Kruger effect. I am not one to rate myself above average in many things without caveats. Yes, I am maybe smarter than the average person but how effective am I at applying the knowledge? Any ego associated with being smarter than you is immediately crushed by the certain belief that if I were on Jeopardy, I would crush my clicker with a hammer because I couldn't remember where Madagascar is when I needed to.
Alex Trebeck: "This is the location of Madagascar."
Me: "What is where is planet Earth?"
Alex Trebeck: "Sorry, we're looking for What is off the coast of East Africa."
Me: "Which is on planet Earth, am I right?"
They wouldn't accept it but technically it's true.
Anyway, I have trouble with the concept of being clueless about one's own mediocrity. I am painfully aware of it everyday. I may not have a full understanding of my strengths but I damn sure know my limitations.
For damn sure, I know there is a lot I don't know.
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