Posted on 02/24/2016 8:42:10 AM PST by Torcert
Analyses of the subjects ratings revealed three varieties of stupid mistakes. The first is when a person’s confidence outstrips their skill, as when a Pittsburgh man robbed two banks in broad daylight without wearing a disguise, believing that lemon juice he had rubbed on his face would make him invisible to security cameras. [..]
The confidence-skill disconnect has been dubbed the Dunning-Kruger effect, after a study by social psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger. Dunning and Kruger had Cornell undergraduates perform tests of humor, logic, and grammar, and then rate how well they think they performed compared to other subjects in the study. The worst performing subjects, whose scores put them in the 12th percentile, estimated that they had performed in the 62nd percentile. Summarizing the findings, Dunning noted, “Poor performers—and we are all poor performers at some things—fail to see the flaws in their thinking or the answers they lack.†When we think we are at our best is sometimes when we are at our objective worst.
As any number of political scandals illustrate, the second type of stupid mistake involves impulsive acts—when our behavior seems out of control. In the scandal that became known as Weinergate, former U.S. representative Anthony Weiner sent lewd texts and pictures of himself to women he met on Facebook. [..]
The final variety of stupid mistake involves lapses of attention—Homer Simpsonesque D’oh moments.
It is, of course, unrealistic to think that we could ever eliminate human error. To err will always be human. However, this research gives us a better description of our failings and foibles, and a place to start in thinking about interventions and prescriptions to help us err less.
(Excerpt) Read more at scientificamerican.com ...
So do Science and Nature, which are still considered reputable journals.
I keep wondering whether my subscriptions are worth the money. So far I've kept them, but if things get tight, they'll be the first to go.
bump
Well..... I do hear that you can conceal your face with a couple of IR LED’s...
If you use enough of those it should work!
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