Someone sent this to me the other day, and naturally the first thing I thought of was those who ignorantly accept their religion and don't realize that there are two pieces to the pie.

http://youarenotsosmart.com/2010/05/11/the-dunning-kruger-effect/

For those who don't feel like reading the article, the name of the effect came from a study at Cornell in 1999. In the experiments, students were given grammar and logic tests and asked to predict how well they would perform. They discovered that most people were terrible at accurately predicting how well they would do.

The gist is this (directly from the article): "The less you know about a subject, the less you believe there is to know in total. Only once you have some experience do you start to recognize the breadth and depth you have yet to plunder."

How many TBM's blindly and ignorantly decry anyone who dares challenge their tightly-bound and oh-so-comfortable belief system? They get angry, defensive and attempt with all of their might to defend something that they don't truly understand. They read a book and felt good about it; that's all the knowledge they need. That's all the knowledge their leaders would have you need. They don't want you to know about the Book of Abraham, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, or where the church REALLY spends its money (something no one knows, which should be enough to at least raise a few eyebrows), etc. etc.

If someone wants to live in ignorance, that's fine. It's when they tell me that I need to live in ignorance, and pay them 10% of my income in order to do so, then we have a MAJOR problem. Charles Darwin said "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge." He hit the nail on the head.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2011 12:47PM by dressclothes.

Also, see The Backfire Effect.

http://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/06/10/the-backfire-effect/

I LOVE THIS WEBSITE.

...and pay them 10% of my income in order to do so, that I have a MAJOR problem."

At some point, every Mormon decides, consciously or subconsciously, either to become informed or to stay uninformed. Most Mormons choose to remain uninformed.

In no way does this qualify them to tell others what choice to make!

Thanks for the site!
I like a quote from a video by Tonya Zavasta (Masters in engineering and mathematics): she said that the moment a scientist achieves a certain level in what he/she is exploring, he/she arrives to another level that makes him/her realize that there is a whole new level to explore and new discoveries to make.

Mormonism claims it has all the answers but actually adresses only a few things (with BS answers). So Mormons start imagining they know everything about everything and are therefore entitled to tell everyone else what to do. A perfect example of the D-K Effect.

I'll need to remember that one.

Oops, this goes with a post below.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2011 03:49PM by Stray Mutt.

This is pretty much the premise of The Peter Principle, a book written by Laurence J. Peter in the 1970s that contains the memorable message that "in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence."

Mormon bishops, stake presidents and GAs confirm this teaching every day (as do politicians and business leaders as well).

...that one's ability to practice Mormonism is inversely proportionate to how much one knows about it. The truly devout know actually very little about the church, shutting down all outside sources and burying their faces in the branch of a tree so as not to see the woods. People who know more either don't join or get out.

Thanks for posting this. You know, living in "ignernce" is sublime, as it turns out.