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I think that impostor syndrome is inextricably linked with Dunning-Kruger. I believe that impostor syndrome is a lack of overconfidence in one's abilities- tha

by efitz 3y ago

I think that impostor syndrome is inextricably linked with Dunning-Kruger. I believe that impostor syndrome is a lack of overconfidence in one's abilities- that implies that you have the ability to assess competence and to assess the skills needed for a job or task, and you don't default to "I know I can do it well". When you encounter a novel job or task, you don't immediately assume competence, and you will remain uncertain until you fully understand the requirements of the job or task. A lot of impostor syndrome comes from "don't fully understand what's required, but it looked complicated from the outside", and will go away with greater understanding provided you actually have the skills and the competence to self-assess. If you lacked the ability to assess competence in yourself, then you likely would not have impostor syndrome. I don't see why it's a balance. Impostor syndrome typically lessens over time as you become familiar with the job/task and the requirements necessary to perform well, and are better able to assess your own skills against those requirements. If impostor syndrome doesn't go away with time, maybe you are correctly assessing that you don't (yet) have the requisite skills. If you never get impostor syndrome, then you either aren't challenging yourself or you might not have the subject area competence to assess your own skills level vs. the jobs/tasks you take on, e.g. Dunning-Kruger effect.

BehindBlueEyes 3y ago
If imposter syndrome doesn’t go away with time, it is very possible the person overly focuses on knowledge/skills that are lacking but that are not required at all to perform at their job, and this can happen even when the person already is a/the top performer.
- sonicanatidae 3y ago
  I've spent a large part of my career managing IT teams. I've worked with a lot of noobs. The issue I find more often is not that they don't know the info, they simply don't have the confidence in what they know and no real practice applying it. It's one thing to know that DNS travels over port 53, but leveraging that in troubleshooting is harder, since it may involve a firewall, switches, trunked ports, servers, workstations, etc. It just takes time to learn the practical side and that's rarely taught in schools from what I've seen. YMMV.
WarOnPrivacy 3y ago
> If you never get impostor syndrome, then you either aren't challenging yourself or you might not have the subject area competence to assess your own skills I'm not disagreeing and I can allow that IS a natural and expected safety valve. That said, I suggest that some individuals are better off without IS operating. They're less-than-qualified but they commit because they believe they'll figure it out in time. For low-resource individuals, this can be the least-unlikely path from destitution.
nonrandomstring 3y ago
This explanation may help. I call it the "frontier effect" in development. It was taught to me by an old scientist. Life is a frontier if you keep moving. As you progress in life you have fewer yardsticks to judge yourself against. At kindergarten we all chant in unison. By middle school you follow what the teacher says, but some people learn differently. It's probably the last "Standardised" (SAT) test you ever take. At high school you are expected to read books by yourself and you choose different books than others. By university it's mostly hands-off, and only the lectures are common amidst diverse self-study. At PhD you know everything about a vanishingly small field, and by definition the doctoral graduate is the singular world expert on their tiniest corner of knowledge. Each of us on a journey from a common place to a unique viewpoint in life, that can be quite lonely. Regardless of whether you follow an academic path I think this applies to everyone. At the start it's easy to see how you measure up to others. By 40 you need to work hard to find smarter people to challenge you and you're not sure where you stand. You see that being smart or confident isn't all that, and it ruins some people. You see people you thought were smart do really dumb things, and people you considered below you race ahead by making wise life-choices. I like the article because it hints at an important truth, that you can simultaneously be too self-assured and not enough. Our value systems for judging ourselves are weak in this society. But as the objective clarity of that sweet spot wanes, something else kicks in as you age, which is a kind of contentment/wisdom. You care less about where you stand and are comfortable with mistakes. A few regrets adds character. Financial or institutional success are no longer good indicators as you start to turn to more spiritual ways of knowing where you stand.
praash 3y ago
Good thoughts! I think there is much more nuance as I disagree with some of your points: > I believe that impostor syndrome is a lack of overconfidence in one's abilities - that implies that you have the the ability to assess competence -- I think that competence in an ability is not perfectly synchronized with ability-assessment-competence. I think ability-assessment-incompetence can result in both under- and overconfidence, before accounting for a self-esteem bias. Being underconfident is also an incorrect self-assessment, which doesn't imply ability-assessment-competence. > If you lacked the ability to assess competence in yourself, then you likely would not have impostor syndrome. Here I disagree the most. I think impostor syndrome can be the result of ability-assessment-incompetence, somewhat detached from their true competence in the actual abilities involved.

by efitz 3y ago

BehindBlueEyes 3y ago

If imposter syndrome doesn’t go away with time, it is very possible the person overly focuses on knowledge/skills that are lacking but that are not required at all to perform at their job, and this can happen even when the person already is a/the top performer.

sonicanatidae 3y ago
I've spent a large part of my career managing IT teams. I've worked with a lot of noobs. The issue I find more often is not that they don't know the info, they simply don't have the confidence in what they know and no real practice applying it. It's one thing to know that DNS travels over port 53, but leveraging that in troubleshooting is harder, since it may involve a firewall, switches, trunked ports, servers, workstations, etc. It just takes time to learn the practical side and that's rarely taught in schools from what I've seen. YMMV.

WarOnPrivacy 3y ago

> If you never get impostor syndrome, then you either aren't challenging yourself or you might not have the subject area competence to assess your own skills I'm not disagreeing and I can allow that IS a natural and expected safety valve. That said, I suggest that some individuals are better off without IS operating. They're less-than-qualified but they commit because they believe they'll figure it out in time. For low-resource individuals, this can be the least-unlikely path from destitution.

nonrandomstring 3y ago

This explanation may help. I call it the "frontier effect" in development. It was taught to me by an old scientist. Life is a frontier if you keep moving. As you progress in life you have fewer yardsticks to judge yourself against. At kindergarten we all chant in unison. By middle school you follow what the teacher says, but some people learn differently. It's probably the last "Standardised" (SAT) test you ever take. At high school you are expected to read books by yourself and you choose different books than others. By university it's mostly hands-off, and only the lectures are common amidst diverse self-study. At PhD you know everything about a vanishingly small field, and by definition the doctoral graduate is the singular world expert on their tiniest corner of knowledge. Each of us on a journey from a common place to a unique viewpoint in life, that can be quite lonely. Regardless of whether you follow an academic path I think this applies to everyone. At the start it's easy to see how you measure up to others. By 40 you need to work hard to find smarter people to challenge you and you're not sure where you stand. You see that being smart or confident isn't all that, and it ruins some people. You see people you thought were smart do really dumb things, and people you considered below you race ahead by making wise life-choices. I like the article because it hints at an important truth, that you can simultaneously be too self-assured and not enough. Our value systems for judging ourselves are weak in this society. But as the objective clarity of that sweet spot wanes, something else kicks in as you age, which is a kind of contentment/wisdom. You care less about where you stand and are comfortable with mistakes. A few regrets adds character. Financial or institutional success are no longer good indicators as you start to turn to more spiritual ways of knowing where you stand.

praash 3y ago

Good thoughts! I think there is much more nuance as I disagree with some of your points: > I believe that impostor syndrome is a lack of overconfidence in one's abilities - that implies that you have the the ability to assess competence -- I think that competence in an ability is not perfectly synchronized with ability-assessment-competence. I think ability-assessment-incompetence can result in both under- and overconfidence, before accounting for a self-esteem bias. Being underconfident is also an incorrect self-assessment, which doesn't imply ability-assessment-competence. > If you lacked the ability to assess competence in yourself, then you likely would not have impostor syndrome. Here I disagree the most. I think impostor syndrome can be the result of ability-assessment-incompetence, somewhat detached from their true competence in the actual abilities involved.