The Dunning-Kruger effect

The Dunning-Kruger effect is the phenomenon wherein people who have little knowledge think that they know more than others who have much more knowledge.

The phenomenon was demonstrated in a series of experiments performed by Justin Kruger and David Dunning, then both of Cornell University. They hypothesized that with a typical skill which humans may possess in greater or lesser degree,

1. Incompetent individuals tend to overestimate their own level of skill.


2. Incompetent individuals fail to recognize genuine skill in others.


3. Incompetent individuals fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy.


4. If they can be trained to substantially improve their own skill level, these individuals can recognize and acknowledge their own previous lack of skill.

I am related to a lot of people who possess these 'qualities'.