We all know a lot about a whole lot of things.
We know a little about a lot of other things too.
We have heard of a lot of stuff that we don’t know anything about. i.e, We all know that there are certain stuff that we don’t even know about. These things are a billion times more than the things we know about.
Then there are stuff that we don’t know; and we don’t even know that we don’t know about those stuff. Believe me – these things are a billion times more than the stuff you think you don’t know about.
Scary indeed !!!
The Dunning-Kruger effect says something along the same lines:
- Incompetent individuals tend to overestimate their own level of skill.
- Incompetent individuals fail to recognize genuine skill in others.
- Incompetent individuals fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy.
- If they can be trained to substantially improve their own skill level, these individuals can recognize and acknowledge their own previous lack of skill.
The next time you think you know all (or nothing) about something, think again.
There’s a theory. I think it goes like this.
Draw a pie chart.
Make a slice that comprises about 10% of the pie. This represents: What You Know You Know.
Make another slice that comprises about 20% of the pie. This represents: What You Know You Don’t Know
The remaining pie represents: What You Don’t Know You Don’t Know
When you have fully absorbed and accepted this fact, you will have escaped personal Incompetence!