Читать книгу The Resilient Founder. Lessons in Endurance from Startup Entrepreneurs онлайн

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People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains. Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but [also] their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it.

Across four different studies, the authors found that participants scoring in the bottom quartile on tests grossly overestimated their test performance and ability. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd (see the following figure). In other words, we assume ourselves to be fives times better than we actually are. Imagine trying to fly an airplane with such an inflated self-image. Or performing brain surgery. The BBC summarized the findings of the Dunning-Kruger study with the headline “The More Inept You Are the Smarter You Think You Are.”

But here is the best part. The researchers conclude that improving the skills of participants increased their metacognitive competence, and helped them recognize the limitations of their abilities. In other words, as our skills improve, we come to realize our own stupidity. As W. B. Yeats writes in his 1920 poem “The Second Coming,”