Posted by:
Stray Mutt
(
)
Date: September 14, 2011 11:01AM
From Wikipedia:
>The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which unskilled people make poor decisions and reach erroneous conclusions, but their incompetence denies them the metacognitive ability to recognize their mistakes.[1] The unskilled therefore suffer from illusory superiority, rating their ability as above average, much higher than it actually is, while the highly skilled underrate their own abilities, suffering from illusory inferiority. Actual competence may weaken self-confidence, as competent individuals may falsely assume that others have an equivalent understanding. As Kruger and Dunning conclude, "the miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others"<
In other words, incompetent people don't know they're incompetent, while competent people don't think they're competent enough.
So what does this have to do with Mormonism? Mormons claim to KNOW things when, really, they only believe in those things, hope those things are real. If they really were wise and enlightened, they'd know that they don't know. Mormons claim they're better at being happy, staying married, raising families, being prosperous, and so on. But those are boasts that come from not being aware.
Consider that Mormonism was started by a guy who's a classic example of Dunning-Kruger effect. He claimed all sorts of superiority, but, really, he was a mess. Charismatic, but a mess, bumbling from one fuck-up to another until he got himself killed.
He was followed by another braggart. BY was more successful, but his inflated opinion of himself had him gladly pontificating on things he knew nothing about.
So it's no wonder Mormonism is full of people claiming to be more competent than they are. Several leaders from my past come to mind, like my MP, a seminary instructor and a certain bishop. The difference between these Mormons and, say, the asshats you encounter at work, is that the former believe they have super special magical intelligence from God -- which just further demonstrates the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2011 11:02AM by Stray Mutt.