The majority of us tend to overestimate our expertise and abilities in various domains to varying degrees. This tendency, while common, sheds light on an intriguing aspect of human nature. T.S. Eliot astutely captured this phenomenon, referring to it as the "endless struggle to think well of ourselves."
Research has uncovered that individuals with some level of knowledge or skill in a particular area often believe themselves to be more proficient than they truly are. This phenomenon is a cognitive bias widely recognized in psychology circles, commonly known as the Dunning-Kruger effect. Social psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger articulated this finding, revealing that incompetent individuals are often unaware of their incompetence. When one's perceived level of knowledge or skill exceeds their actual proficiency, they tend to remain oblivious to this discrepancy.
Malcolm Gladwell calls this a “tipping point,” particularly when elite policy-makers, owing to an insufficiency of critical thinking, choose to listen to what is being virally echoed rather than the unbiased reality of what one can actually see to be true and critically act upon hard facts rather than emotionally founded beliefs. When the ill-equipped have their hand on the hammer, despite all intentions, it should not be assumed they will hit the nail on the head… No matter how many failed attempts are made.
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