Almost every day as we peruse through Twitter, Youtube, and other Social Media, we read posts which seem ridiculous despite the seriousness conveyed by the author. It will be clear for well-balanced intelligent individuals the content is idiotic, yet the author may genuinely believe what they have written. So why do dumb people think they are smart?
Intelligence & intellect are complex and multifaceted traits that can manifest in different ways. People’s self-perception of their intelligence is often influenced by a variety of factors, upbringing, social environment, and personal experiences. We must also recognise an individuals perception of what is intelligent varies based on their own intelligence, intellect, and ability to comprehend.
Intellect is the faculty of reasoning and objective understanding. Intelligence is the ability to acquire knowledge and skills
venturebeat.com
With that said, there are several cognitive biases and psychological phenomena that can lead people to overestimate their intelligence or knowledge, regardless of their actual abilities. The following are three possible reasons why dumb people think they are smart. There are actually many reasons but these are the top three.
The Dunning-Kruger effect
This phenomenon describes how people with low levels of competence or expertise in a particular domain overestimate their abilities. While those with higher levels of competence tend to underestimate their abilities. This is because people lacking knowledge or skill in a given area may not have the insight to recognise their own limitations, and therefore overestimate their abilities.
Dunning-Kruger was named after two gentlemen, Dunning & Kruger, who originally identified and classified the effect. They read an article about someone who robbed a bank and was surprised he was later caught because he thought he was invisible to cameras after applying lemon juice. Hard to believe but it’s a true story!
Trump voters overestimated his intellect & abilities while underestimating his stupidity.
Quoting myself
Confirmation bias
This is the tendency to seek out information confirming one’s existing beliefs or assumptions while ignoring or dismissing evidence contradicting them.
People who aren’t knowledgeable about a subject may rely on limited or biased sources of information that confirm their own preconceived notions, leading them to believe they are more knowledgeable than they actually are.
We see many examples of confirmation bias, particularly in a world where the majority have social media accounts. Software algorithms fill your timeline with content based on previous searches or articles you have read. Browsing a few posts about chemtrails likely results in being presented with more posts on various other weird conspiracies.
Stupid leads to more stupid in the long-term and it’s difficult to combat confirmation bias. The true dummies are unable to recognise they are being led astray.
Illusory superiority
This is the tendency to overestimate one’s abilities or qualities relative to others. Some people may believe they are smarter than others simply because they feel they possess certain desirable qualities or traits (e.g. confidence, charisma, creativity), even if those qualities are not directly related to intelligence.
When speaking of illusory superiority I can’t help but use, as an example, an unnamed disgraced former US President. He has lived a life where everyone around him seeks his favour and they soon learned that brown-nosing is what gets him off. Constantly agreeing with him, telling him how awesome he is only reinforces his delusion. He soon starts believing he’s the greatest human who ever lived. That kind of fake adoration only adds to his own sense of grandeur.
You can’t fix stupid, but should we try
Fixing stupid isn’t easy. Our genetic makeup, social environment, upbringing, and level of education may destine some of us to perpetual stupidity. Despite fighting a seemingly losing battle it is important we encourage them to think for themselves, both critically & logically. Point them in the direction of reliable sources and challenge them to consider opposing views. I accept that 90% of the nutters out their will dismiss you or simply ignore whatever truth you provide, but that should not stop us from trying. These people clearly need help.
Similarly we must acknowledge our own limitations, analyse our personal biases and beliefs because we may the one with a problem.
While discussing most conspiracies, shape of the earth earth, politics, science, moon landings, vaccines, etc. I often ask myself “am I understanding what I’m being told?” It is difficult being honest with yourself and questioning your own intelligence because we all suffer a little from Dunning-Kruger occasionally.
Genuine facts matter! People sprouting alternative facts are diverting the conversation away from the truth and further allowing someone to bolster their confirmation bias. Always challenge alternative facts and outright lies.
Additionally we have many more science deniers to contend with. Misinformation and outright lies coming from a minority of idiots make the loudest noise and, sadly, they get heard as well as airtime.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking refers to the ability to analyse, evaluate, and form independent judgements or opinions based on evidence, logic, and reason rather than relying on emotions or personal biases.
An example of critical thinking might be when a person is presented with a news article about a political issue, for example “masks don’t work”. Rather than immediately accepting the article’s veracity or claims and rejecting them based on personal beliefs, a critical thinker would assess the evidence presented, sources, and consider alternative perspectives. We must all do our best to come to informed and objective opinions.
We might also analyse a source’s background and potential biases. Look for fallacies or inconsistencies in the argument. Draw conclusions based on sound reasoning rather than emotions, preconceptions, or based on our own understanding.
In essence, critical thinking involves the ability to approach information and ideas with a healthy degree of scepticism. Ask questions and form judgements based on evidence, facts, and rational analysis.
Opposing opinions and Echo Chambers
Offering an opposing opinion may lead to verbal conflict when dealing with conspiracy nuts. They tend to ignore genuine evidence if it doesn’t fit with their own beliefs. For example; some claim the earth is flat covered with a firmament because the bible says so. Evidence, science and reality aren’t important to them are simply ignored.
Perpetrators of stupidity frequently gather in Echo Chambers. Here they find solace and affirmation of their conspiracies through people holding similar views, further reinforcing each others egos and sense of superiority. All this does is drive them deeper into the rabbit hole and into believing even crazier sh*t.
Your intellectual-pants are down when you dismiss science and reality without logical or factual thought.
A quote from me 🙂
Perhaps the next reiteration of humanity will do better. Consider being rational and try and think for yourself.