Few things are as irritating as watching someone overestimate their abilities when they have proven them insufficient more than once. Incompetent people are often convinced they are wonderful at what they do, and that has an explanation: The Dunning-Kruger Effect. This cognitive bias installs an “illusory superiority”, but the most striking thing is that it is not limited to inept people. Those with greater intelligence and preparation than the rest could also end up in that pit.
A news channel presents new information about a crime that shook a city. What's the result? All the journalists become criminology experts within seconds. Does a football team lose three straight matches? Instant coaches by magic. And the list goes on: doctors, engineers, architects, artists, ship captains, curling champions... there is always someone trying to show a certain superiority in a field or topic, when in reality they have no idea what they are saying or doing. Is it something strictly personal, or is there a broader reason? The answer comes through psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger, who published a solid study in 1999.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect and the Trap of “Inaccurate Self-Perception”
Basically, those with inferior abilities suffer limitations when it comes to recognizing their own limits, leading to exaggerated personal evaluations and an illusory sense of superiority. In other words, the incompetent have delusions of grandeur, and they lack the resources to recognize the fact that they are deluding themselves in the first place.
The Dunning-Kruger effect usually appears with two associated names: McArthur Wheeler and Clifton Earl Johnson. In 1995, both robbed two banks in broad daylight, convinced that the lemon juice they had applied to their skin had the same properties as invisible ink, so the cameras could not identify them.
However, the Dunning-Kruger effect is not exclusive to clumsy people. A variant also affects exceptional individuals, as they tend to underestimate their own ability, erroneously concluding that everyone else is at a similar level and can perform the same tasks as they can. In short, the Dunning-Kruger effect is invisible among those who suffer from it, but constructive criticism and constant learning open a shortcut to escape it.
Source: TED-Ed
