Novices don’t know they’re novices

Have you ever been in conversation with someone who had no idea what they were talking about? Maybe you were at a party, in a meeting, or just standing in line for a burger. And someone starts talking about a topic and they are 100% wrong. And you know it’s wrong.

(For the record, I’m not talking about differences of opinion here. I’m talking about being wrong on well-established subjects that have verifiable facts, not opinions. )

Here’s the interesting part of their blathering. They don’t realize they are wrong In fact, they truly believe they know what they are talking about. Sounds odd, right? Surely someone can’t go on endlessly without realizing they are wrong. They must have some idea that they are wrong, or at least off by a little. Right?

A Cornell University study set out to prove just that point. And, as it turns out, people who scored lower on tests results about a topic had an interesting idiosyncrasy. In addition to their low scores, they didn’t realize  their own low scores. They over-estimated their ability on the tests.

The study compared 3 groups and ran tests on their expertise in humor, logical reasoning, and grammar. The low scorers and high scorers were asked to gauge their own performance. In all cases, the low scorers in the groups all significantly overestimated their performance. Every time.

Fascinating.

The explanation for this overestimate is hidden within the low scores. Because the lower percentile doesn’t have knowledge in the field, hence the low scores, they also lack the capacity to accurately evaluate their performance. They lack the metacognitive ability to asses themselves.

What does this mean for you? It means next time you hear someone spouting off on a topic and they don’t know what they are talking about, take pause before correcting them. They earnestly believe in what they are saying. You correcting them probably won’t lead anywhere except an argument, since they don’t have the capacity to correctly assess your argument.

Source article:  Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments