I think the Internet makes it worse, but it's not as if it was hard to find someone who was too confident in their layman's opinion in the real world. Witness a

I think the Internet makes it worse, but it's not as if it was hard to find someone who was too confident in their layman's opinion in the real world. Witness any sports event. How often do your friends say "favorite will definitely win" when it's been known that they lose now and again? Same with the stock market, predictions about the house market, the weather, political events, and so on. Overconfidence is the rule, not the exception. I'm certain of it.