Ignorant Brave: Symptoms of Dunning-Kruger

Ignorant Brave: Symptoms of Dunning-Kruger

Welcome to the world of the Dunning-Kruger effect, where the real experts mysteriously disappear and are replaced by brave amateurs. This psychological phenomenon, sometimes referred to as the “ignorant brave” syndrome, sheds light on why some people are so convinced they are the smartest in the room – especially if they have barely stepped through it.

Step 1: Never realise you are part of the game!
The very first and perhaps the hardest rule to spot: you may have fallen into the Dunning-Kruger trap yourself without realising it. The first step on the road to your perceived expertise is to mentally remove yourself from the equation, because ‘we are certainly not like the others’. This blind spot against ourselves provides the perfect basis for building our own knowledge – however incomplete it may be.

Step 2: Dive into superficial information!
If you’ve already decided to become an expert, now is the time to acquire that ‘knowledge’ with as little effort as possible. Read a short article, or better still, just the introduction, and you’ll be ready to share your ‘expert’ opinion with the world. The real art lies in appearing knowledgeable, as if you have been working on the subject for years.

Step 3: Be loud and unwavering!
One key to the Dunning-Kruger effect is confidence. When you speak, do so confidently, as if all the professional discussions surrounding you were just waiting for you to step in and sort out the issues. People often believe those who assert their positions forcefully, no matter how well-supported.

Step 4: Don’t accept that you can be wrong!
“Experts” suffering from Dunning-Kruger syndrome rarely admit that they can be wrong. If someone criticises you, simply say that they don’t understand it as deeply as you do, or that your “research” comes from more reliable sources. Rejection of the truth is a protective armour of ignorance.

Conclusion
Armed with this knowledge, you may now be better able to appreciate the real experts who actually have in-depth knowledge of the field, and to distinguish them from those who only appear to know something. It might also prompt a bit of self-reflection about when you yourself have fallen into this trap. Beware, the Dunning-Kruger effect can be comical, but if we are not careful, we can easily fall victim to our own mistakes!

Attila Jezsó

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