Study: Incompetent People Really Have No Clue

[Valerie Salva]

Incompetent People Really Have No Clue,

Studies Find

They're blind to own failings, others' skills

One reason that the ignorant also tend to be the blissfully self-assured, the researchers believe, is that the skills required for competence often are the same skills necessary to recognize competence.

The incompetent, therefore, suffer doubly, they suggested in a paper appearing in the December issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. ``Not only do they reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it,'' wrote Kruger, now an assistant professor at the University of Illinois, and Dunning

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/01/18/MN73840.DTL

[mshultz]

It sounds like pop psychology to me. Like anyone else, I have my strengths and my weaknesses. Since I started back to college in 1993 and got serious about it, I have been doing as well as can be expected (4.00 GPA, and for the third time now, I have earned every possible point going into the final. My secret is sheer hard work).

On the other hand, I have no sense of direction. North, south, east, and west are words utterly without meaning to me. Combined with a poor memory for roads, it is not surprising that I only drive my personal vehicle 5400 miles a year.

My Gerontology teacher did tell me that I was insightful, while some students were oblivious.

As far as "a panel of experts" evaluating jokes, I am suspicious of expert opinion. All too often, it only reflects the personal idiosyncratic biases of the experts. Here is a joke that someone declared to be the world's funniest. I like it. See what you think:

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go on a camping trip, set up their tent and fall asleep. Some hours later, Holmes wakes his faithful friend. "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."

Watson replies, "I see millions of stars."

"What does that tell you?"

Watson ponders for a minute. "Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, it's evidence the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Why, what does it tell you?"

Holmes is silent for a moment, and then speaks. "Watson, you idiot, someone has stolen our tent."

[elkpark]

Humor aside, the report does mirror what I've observed over the course of my career -- the coworkers who the the most incompetent and scary are also the people who are the most serenely confident that they're always right and have always made the best choice, and who are the least inclined to take advice or direction from anyone else ...

[LadyJRN1]

One thing I have found with patients and their families is that you can't fix stupid.

[Valerie Salva, BSN, RN]

Humor aside, the report does mirror what I've observed over the course of my career -- the coworkers who the the most incompetent and scary are also the people who are the most serenely confident that they're always right and have always made the best choice, and who are the least inclined to take advice or direction from anyone else ...

I agree.

[CritterLover, BSN, RN]

it really just makes sense to me.

to be incompetent, there has to be some element of needed or attempted competence.

i can't do surgery, and i can't fly a plane, but i'm neither an incompetent surgeon nor an incompetent pilot. i'm just not a surgeon or a pilot. i've never made an attempt at either.

most of us, when striving to master a set of skills, will keep on trying to improve. we take in feedback, both positive and negative, and make adjustments.

if we can't improve to a certain level, most of us give up, change directions, find something we are better suited for. it is just too hard on our ego to know that we are doing a miserable job on a daily basis.

for those who, for some reason, choose not to go another direction, the ego seems to convince the mind that they are doing a good job -- everyone else is wrong.

american idol, anyone?

there do seem to be some notable exceptions. driving for one. some people are terrible drivers, and realize it. but they continue on, out of necessity more than anything else.

[bluesnurse]

Humor aside, the report does mirror what I've observed over the course of my career -- the coworkers who the the most incompetent and scary are also the people who are the most serenely confident that they're always right and have always made the best choice, and who are the least inclined to take advice or direction from anyone else ...

I've also observed this in the White House for the past 7 years. It's certainly not limited to nurses *shudder*