Sunday, March 18, 2012

The Dunning-Kruger Effect

Ace of Spades HQ: "Recall the Dunning-Kruger effect. In short, a person’s incompetence inhibits their ability to recognize his or her incompetence. The people who think they are the smartest are the dumbest, essentially, because they are blind to their stupidity. The people who think they know better know the least. And isn't it interesting that they are almost always the first to hurl the insult "you're stupid"?

Anyway, I was reading about the police busting OWS people and closing Zuccotti Park today, and it occurred to me that there is a variation on the Dunning-Kruger effect that has to do with other forms of self-awareness. Several examples:
Doesn't it follow that the people who think they're the most egalitarian become the most sexist, biased, and/or prejudiced? Because of the fact they admire that quality in themselves, egalitarianism, they are blind to the reality that they are not. These are the people who say "flyover states" and "rednecks." These are the people who come down on Limbaugh for a single use of "slut" while thinking someone else's use of much worse language is okay."
RTWT. No surprise that if you read to the end, you'll find yourself staring once more at the Stone Age Trinity.  I find it stunning that the self appointed liberal guardians of evolution in fact have no idea of its implications and have turned it into nothing more than a cargo cult.  Dunning-Kruger indeed.