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Actually, the title doesn't make that claim either. It just mentions "incompetents think they're awesome," without claiming that they're more confident than com
by cwp 13y ago
Actually, the title doesn't make that claim either. It just mentions "incompetents think they're awesome," without claiming that they're more confident than competent people.
If you have to boil the paper down to a handful or words, this title isn't bad. It highlights the interesting bit, which will help people who've heard about Dunning-Kruger remember it. And if the reader is familiar with the misrepresentation of Dunning-Kruger, they'll learn something by reading the article.
(You did read the article, right? It specifically mentions this misconception. Key sentence: 'The findings of Dunning and Kruger are being reduced to "Stupid people are so stupid that they don't know they are stupid."' And since you read the article, the title did it's job.)
- romaniv 13y agoIf someone said "my front left tire is flat", most people would assume that other tires are okay. That's not an error in reasoning, as some pedants would claim, it's just the way natural language works. So yes, the title is written to imply exactly what you say it doesn't claim.
- andrewflnr 13y agoIt's the way natural language sometimes works. I would argue that the intended contrast of "incompetent people think they're awesome" is not against other people's self-opinions, as you're saying, but against a true, objective self-assesment. If I can find an interpretation where someone is correct, I'd rather take that.
- yaddayadda 13y agoI would highly suggest you read all of "Just Good Friends" written by Jeffrey Archer, available in "A Twist in the Tale" - http://books.google.com/books?id=m8uLx11IbtYC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=m8uLx11IbtYC&printsec=front... The theme of the particular story is irrelevant. It's much more about how your linguistic assumptions will ... well, read the story and see! I recommend this particular story because about half of the stories' endings in "A Twist in the Tale" didn't surprise me at all (but I am surprised at how many people I know who were surprised by their endings), but "Just Good Friends" totally got me!
- praptak 13y agoIf I had to boil the paper down to a handful of words it would be "people tend to err towards the average in their self-assessment."