The Dunning-Kruger Effect

The Dunning-Kruger Effect is a somewhat well known cognitive bias. It is the tendency of most people to overestimate their knowledge of a subject and their competency in the field and in their skills. The less a person knows about a topic the more they tend to think they know about it or are good at it. To some extent, the reverse is true (to a point). The more you know, the more you know you don’t know about a subject and the less you think of your competency. After a while, though, your confidence in your knowledge picks up with your growth in knowledge.

It is important to know this whenever you start reading and learning about a new topic and gain new skills at a task. That includes learning about cognitive biases and critical thinking. The point, as with all cognitive biases, is to be aware of and apply it to yourselves, not to use a knowledge of it to laugh at or ridicule others as may be the temptation. The point is to be humble as you learn.

Artices:

The Dunning-Kruger Effect Explained

What Is the Dunning-Kruger Effect?

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