The Dunning-Kruger effect is probably just from bimodal skill distributions

(bosoncutter.substack.com)

4 points | by the_tyger 5 hours ago ago

10 comments

  • mwkaufma 5 hours ago ago

    "probably" according to what? Just producing a possible decomposition of a graph and arbitrarily assigning meaning to the components is rationalization, not empirical inquiry.

    • clickety_clack 4 hours ago ago

      It’s about as empirical as the chart everyone sees that describes the effect, and as rationalizations go it seems like a plausible one.

      • mwkaufma 4 hours ago ago

        How does it become more "plausible" just by doing number-wang absent one iota of external confirmation? It's a tautology.

        • peterlk 4 hours ago ago

          Thanks for numberwang today. Probably my favorite meme for board meetings and all-hands presentations

  • themonsu 4 hours ago ago

    Isn't the Dunning-Kruger effect considered an over-simplification and not true in general?

    • torginus 3 hours ago ago

      Dunning Kruger is just people thinking they're more average than they actually are. Which leads to below average people overrating and above average people underrating themselves.

      Which is fair, if somebody asked me how good a driver I was, I would say I'm not particularly good, but I don't really get into accidents either so about average, which might or might not be true.

      • Smoosh an hour ago ago

        We may or may not be experts on a particular topic but most of us are inexpert at estimating competence on that topic.

  • Zenst 4 hours ago ago

    Good article. I particularly like the line, "early exposure to experts reduces delusional confidence", which is very true. It helps prevent a flawed Occam’s razor mindset, where people mistake the simplest visible explanation for the correct one.

    Though probably not the best title as more about "Mount Stupid", than Dunning-Kruger.

  • kromem 3 hours ago ago

    Why are you using the straw man graph for your curve you're addressing?

    Where's the top quartile drop relative to measured performance?

    D-K effect wasn't only around low competence overestimation but regression to the ~80% mean on both sides.

    • the_tyger 3 hours ago ago

      "It’s worth noting that the 'Dunning-Kruger curve' never appeared in the original paper and is basically a meme based on a misunderstanding(?) of the effect. Nevertheless, it resonates with a lot of people."