What is the Dunning-Kruger Effect?
“The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.”
- Aristotle
I remember when I asked one of my classmates a question I had, He started to explain it so confidently. But it did not make any sense to me. I was really surprised at why I was not able to understand his explanation.
I thought I was not capable of learning this subject. But then I worked hard and understood what I was asking and got the explanation of it by searching online and talking to lecturers.
What my classmate had told me was wrong and confusing. But it seemed right to him maybe. By the display of his confidence when he was explaining it tricked my mind thinking that I was somehow less capable than him.
from this experience, I learnt that your confidence is heavily influenced by people whose opinions you respect. even if those opinions are made indirectly i.e I thought of myself being less capable just because I did not understand what my classmate was saying.
Everybody is on a learning curve. If you have any question in class and if the teacher explains it to you but you don’t understand keep asking until you get it.
It might be awkward at first but you will learn how much to ask before you start confusing yourself. (it’s ok to be confused sometimes)
(You can stop if the teacher is just repeating the same thing but in the same words you cant understand).
The Dunning-Kruger Effect is the phenomenon in which people who have little knowledge of a subject think they know a lot about it and have a lot of confidence in it.( AKA being “on Mount Stupid”)
It is the Cognitive bias created in our mind when we learn something new So that we feel good/bad about ourself.
Cognitive bias is something where the brain makes us feel that we are more capable or less capable than others.
For example, a hard-working student might think that he/she will do bad at their exams because they have never done very well before. Of course, this is not true because if they put in their efforts consistently in the right direction then results are bound to come.
On the other hand, a student who has not touched their books goes into the exam hall feeling so confident that they will clear the exam easily because they think if they study once that is enough. In most cases, it is not reality.
Your perception of reality is not equal to reality.
So how to avoid the Dunning-Kruger effect?
- Keep learning and exploring.
- Ask for advice/feedback good or bad.
- Explain it to a friend of yours who is familiar with the subject.
- Take part in discussions on the topic of online forums.
The more you know of the subject, The more you understand its depth.
Yes you loose a lot of confidence when knowing more but since you are more knowledgeable you will make better decisions and will have more respect to those people who have really dived deep into that subject.
