Didn't we just see a post on how people who had high self-opinions of their abilities made more money on average? Wasn't that just yesterday? squaring up this

Didn't we just see a post on how people who had high self-opinions of their abilities made more money on average? Wasn't that just yesterday? squaring up this ("The Kind of Employees You Want To Hire"): http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/sep2009/ca20090922_894897.htm?campaign_id=rss_topStories http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/sep2009/ca20090... with this: ("Unskilled and Unaware of it") http://www.apa.org/journals/features/psp7761121.pdf http://www.apa.org/journals/features/psp7761121.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect http://www.damninteresting.com/unskilled-and-unaware-of-it http://www.damninteresting.com/unskilled-and-unaware-of-it seems to suggest that the natural explanation is a) overconfidence helps us in a lot of intangible ways -- impressing bosses, convincing people to give us jobs/money, whatever. b) as long as it doesn't kill us in the tangible ways. (whoops, turns out i can't catch a bullet with my teeth!)