Saturday, Oct. 07, 2006, 8:55 a.m., Incompetence & Self-assessments

http://www.apa.org/journals/features/psp7761121.pdf
People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains. The authors suggest that this overestimation occurs, in part, because people who are unskilled in these domains suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it. Across 4 studies, the authors found that participants scoring in the bottom quartile on tests of humor, grammar, and logic grossly overestimated their test performance and ability. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile (i.e. bottom eighth), they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd (i.e. in the top quarter). Several analyses linked this miscalibration to deficits in metacognitive skill, or the capacity to distinguish accuracy from error. Paradoxically, improving the skills of participants, and thus increasing their metacognitive competence, helped them recognize the limitations of their abilities.

alt: http://www2.lingsoft.fi/~reriksso/competence.html

Friday, Sept. 15, 2006, 1:11 p.m., [P] Spider on the wall

I see a spider on the wall
as I walk past, hurrying back to work.

I see a spider on the wall
casting a shadow in the sun
as I walk past hurrying back to work after lunch.

The spider pauses in the sun
I see no more as I walk past hurrying after lunch.

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