Re: Best Statement on this list so far...

["David E.B. Smith" <davidebsmith@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 1/16/2005 8:18 PM, Steve Makohin wrote:

> There are 4 stages of competence:
> 
> (1) Unconscious incompetent: You don't know, and you don't know that
> you don't know. Most riders are in this category when it comes to
> mastery over their machine. I knew a bass player who asserted he kept
> better time than a metronome. Riiiiiiiigght (in my best Dr. Evil
> voice).
> 
> (2) Conscious incompetent: You don't know, but at least you are aware
> of it. This is what you describe. This is where I fit in as a Track
> Boy and Brake God. As a F.A.S.T. grad (all 3 phases), I am humbled by
> regular street riders that have serious riding capabilities as
> demonstrated on the track, much nearer to the edge of a bike's
> performance envelope. I am in awe when I am amongst professional
> racers. Did I mention that the same bike, when equipped with ABS and 
> piloted by Joe Average, can outbrake the best professional riders in
> the wet?
> 

For a more technical version of this, see this article:

http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/psp7761121.html

> Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's
> Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments
> 
> Abstract: 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,
> they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd. 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.
> 
- -- 
David E.B. Smith * Chicago IL 393 455 * BMWMOA BMWRA IBA AMA ABATE
1997 R1100RT Sine(us) Blue "No name" * Illinois IBMWR plate * 01, 03 IBR
1999 F650 Black (hers - no, really)
1999 Subaru Forester S "also a Boxer"
http://www.davidebsmith.org

------------------------------