The Paradox Portal
Psychological/Decision

Dunning-Kruger Effect

Incompetent people overestimate their ability

Overview

A cognitive bias where people with low ability overestimate their competence while experts underestimate theirs.

People who lack knowledge or skill in a domain often rate themselves as above average, while genuine experts rate themselves more modestly. Incompetence prevents recognizing incompetence. 'The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.'

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