The Dunning-Kruger Effect

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bluegreenearth
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The Dunning-Kruger Effect

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Post by bluegreenearth »

From Psychology Today: (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basi ... ger-effect)
Dunning-Kruger Effect
The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which people wrongly overestimate their knowledge or ability in a specific area. This tends to occur because a lack of self-awareness prevents them from accurately assessing their own skills.

Understanding the Dunning-Kruger Effect
The concept of the Dunning-Kruger effect is based on a 1999 paper by Cornell University psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger. The pair tested participants on their logic, grammar, and sense of humor, and found that those who performed in the bottom quartile rated their skills far above average. For example, those in the 12th percentile self-rated their expertise to be, on average, in the 62nd percentile.

The researchers attributed the trend to a problem of metacognition—the ability to analyze one’s own thoughts or performance. “Those with limited knowledge in a domain suffer a dual burden: Not only do they reach mistaken conclusions and make regrettable errors, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it,” they wrote.

What causes the Dunning-Kruger effect?
Confidence is so highly prized that many people would rather pretend to be smart or skilled than risk looking inadequate and losing face. Even smart people can be affected by the Dunning-Kruger effect because having intelligence isn’t the same thing as learning and developing a specific skill. Many individuals mistakenly believe that their experience and skills in one particular area are transferable to another.

Why do people fail to recognize their own incompetence?
Many people would describe themselves as above average in intelligence, humor, and a variety of skills. They can’t accurately judge their own competence, because they lack metacognition, or the ability to step back and examine oneself objectively. In fact, those who are the least skilled are also the most likely to overestimate their abilities.
Here is the link to the 1999 paper by David Dunning and Justin Kruger: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/U ... ebabc?p2df

Apparently, all of us are susceptible to the Dunning-Kruger Effect but few of us are consciously aware when we are exhibiting the diagnostic symptoms.

So, I'm compelled to consider if the Dunning-Kruger Effect best explains the arrogant confidence various untrained and unqualified pseudo-intellectuals have in their poorly researched and tragically misinformed objections to demonstrably reliable scientific theories which are rigorously and routinely tested by actual experts who are trained and qualified in their relevant fields?

If not the Dunning-Kruger Effect, what are other candidate explanations for this deleterious social phenomenon?

Is there a compassionate way to facilitate intellectual humility and help each other recognize when our confidence in a particular perspective is disproportionately high compared to our level of competence?

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Re: The Dunning-Kruger Effect

Post #31

Post by TRANSPONDER »

William wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:42 pm
bluegreenearth wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:18 pm
William wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 12:21 pm [Replying to TRANSPONDER in post #17]
This is relevant to the point William (I think the layout confuses me at times) about treating Christians as unintelligent. There is something I used to say on my old Board :P ...Deconverts do not suddenly become more intelligent, they simply become less theist. We all know, don't we (and I think the theists know this deep don inside because you see from their evasions, ducking and diving like a politician asked an awkward question that they know where they are going wrong but do not want to know because they are driven by Faith and not by getting at the truth so far as the evidence goes.
My position is Agnostic Theist. So you are claiming that I duck and weave and evade etc and don't deal with "awkward questions" and are "driven by faith" rather than "getting at the truth".

I do not think your assessment of my position is intellectually honest or intellectually humble.
Of course, TRANSPONDER is welcome to confirm or deny your interpretation of his remarks, but I don't observe where his comments are being directed at you specifically. Though he is responding to your post, the comments you've referenced appear to be about other types of theists.
If that is the case, then I am sure TRANSPONDER will adjust the way in which TRANSPONDER uses the word in future post, as that is the reason I am calling it - an attempt on my part to correct a mis-representation. Not all are painted with the same brush and it is not the first time I have attempted to explain this to TRANSPONDER.

And you may have to explain it again sometime, O:) because I do not keep notes about what brand or type of theism a poster professes abut I can only take it from the post - if I am even talking about a particular theist rather than theist -thinking general and the basic illogicality of their belief -position.

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Re: The Dunning-Kruger Effect

Post #32

Post by TRANSPONDER »

JoeyKnothead wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:08 pm
William wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 1:42 pm If that is the case, then I am sure TRANSPONDER will adjust the way in which TRANSPONDER uses the word in future post, as that is the reason I am calling it - an attempt on my part to correct a mis-representation. Not all are painted with the same brush and it is not the first time I have attempted to explain this to TRANSPONDER.
After fussing through the thread, I gotta go with William here. It'd be nice to see TRANSPONDER use a sash brush instead of the all purpose brush. Paint's getting applied where it ain't to spec.

Hmm. The problem there is that with the topic title it is about general applications and rather than go after the poster of a point, I may want to look at the general application. Now, in a discussion like the one on the resurrection with otseng, I might point up what seem to me particular flaws in the reasoning, and that's not general, but with general discussion of an effect with theists (or indeed atheists) I feel obliged to use a broader brush and I'm frankly a bit surprised when people take it personally. If they was to say 'that's not how I think' and explain their approach, that's fine. It's what I do if anyone criticises my thinking, or indeed my posting.i

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Re: The Dunning-Kruger Effect

Post #33

Post by JoeyKnothead »

TRANSPONDER wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 10:19 pm Hmm. The problem there is that with the topic title it is about general applications and rather than go after the poster of a point, I may want to look at the general application. Now, in a discussion like the one on the resurrection with otseng, I might point up what seem to me particular flaws in the reasoning, and that's not general, but with general discussion of an effect with theists (or indeed atheists) I feel obliged to use a broader brush and I'm frankly a bit surprised when people take it personally. If they was to say 'that's not how I think' and explain their approach, that's fine. It's what I do if anyone criticises my thinking, or indeed my posting.i
I just think you could throw in a "some" there in what you've writ before in this thread. If I've learned me anything on this site, not all theists think alike, cept for that whole god existing thing.

(Where even the god in question is given differing properties)
I might be Teddy Roosevelt, but I ain't.
-Punkinhead Martin

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Re: The Dunning-Kruger Effect

Post #34

Post by TRANSPONDER »

JoeyKnothead wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:43 pm
TRANSPONDER wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 10:19 pm Hmm. The problem there is that with the topic title it is about general applications and rather than go after the poster of a point, I may want to look at the general application. Now, in a discussion like the one on the resurrection with otseng, I might point up what seem to me particular flaws in the reasoning, and that's not general, but with general discussion of an effect with theists (or indeed atheists) I feel obliged to use a broader brush and I'm frankly a bit surprised when people take it personally. If they was to say 'that's not how I think' and explain their approach, that's fine. It's what I do if anyone criticises my thinking, or indeed my posting.i
I just think you could throw in a "some" there in what you've writ before in this thread. If I've learned me anything on this site, not all theists think alike, cept for that whole god existing thing.

(Where even the god in question is given differing properties)
Hmm again. That's true as regards the kind of theism they believe, but I reckon that the generality of Theism is Faith -baaed as sooner of later becomes evident with arguments such as the burden of proof is on atheism, which is a good crafty trick but I reckon it's how they think, based on a faith that God exists until disproven, and the occasional '...let's begin with the assumption that God exists; then..' which is hat we saw in an argument here not long ago.

That said I'll bear in mind '"Some" as a term I should consider using more often.

I'll mention also that 'agnostic theist' (which seems to be the basis if the ruckus) is virtually meaningless as we are all actually agnostic. Deist or irreligious Theist is more usually what is in mind when some theists use the term. On my previous board, an irreligious Theist argued against Bible reliability (which he was a non -religious Theist) so that that Some Christian posters assumed he was an atheist, because he certainly sounded like one. Using the term Deist or irreligious theist would certainly leave me in no doubt.

'Theist' does not in itself imply the god of the Bible, but the generality of people identifying as Theist turn out to be Christians, as Jews and Muslims used to identify as such first post.

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