BLUF
Illusions about how much we know can affect our judgement in many areas, and although many of us have plenty of skills and expertise—we probably don't know as much as we think we do.Summary
David Robson writing in BBC Worklife, makes the following points:
- Overconfidence in what we think we know may cause us to overlook the contributions of other people
- In tests, many were surprised about how little they knew.
- Many of us overestimate how much we can learn by observing others.
- Googled knowledge can sometimes result in the illusion that we knew that knowledge anyway.
- Humility may lead to wiser thinking and better decision-making.
References
Recent Runway Posts related to this topic:
- How to admit you’re wrong - The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
- Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters by Steven Pinker review - The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
- Psychology has struggled for a century to make sense of the mind - The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
References from the Web:
- OCT 2014 Illusion of Knowledge and Illusion of Control-gurufocus
- AUG 2022 The ‘Illusion of Knowledge’ That Makes People Overconfident-Business News
- AUG 2022 The ‘illusion of knowledge’ that makes people overconfident- SocietyMag
