Just another dimension?

Saturday, March 29, 2008
Do you realize that you are stupid? -vww

"Do you realize that you are stupid?"

This question is a funny insult a friend taught me a long time ago. Replying either yes or no is essentially admitting one's stupidity. Upon further contemplation, one wonders if people really understand their level of competence.

"The Dunning-Kruger effect is the phenomenon wherein people who have little knowledge tend to think that they know more than they do, while others who have much more knowledge tend to think that they know less" -Wikipedia

The idea that incompetent people are overconfident about their abilities while competent people underestimate theirs isn't new. As the story goes, the Oracle of Delphi named Socrates the wisest man because only he knows that he does not know. But I still like the way Kruger describes the incompetent, "Not only do they reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it".

The experiments that Dunning and Kruger performed covered logic, grammar and humour. I'm a little worried because I would rate myself as above 90th percentile in logical reasoning. Am I then one of those ignorant of their incompetence? Well, at least we know now that those know-it-alls are really just full of it.

Extra Reading Here

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Yiheng made 11:35 AM

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