Dunning-Kruger Effect is junk science

gsmonks

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Mention of the so-called Dunning-Kruger Effect has become popular in pop-culture circles, especially amongst those that think it amounts to a clever put-down or comeback.

The exact opposite is true, however. The so-called Dunning-Kruger Effect was debunked from the get-go because it's junk science, and those that like to toss this term around are unwittingly making fools of themselves.

http://www.talyarkoni.org/blog/2010/07/07/what-the-dunning-kruger-effect-is-and-isnt/
 
Mention of the so-called Dunning-Kruger Effect has become popular in pop-culture circles, especially amongst those that think it amounts to a clever put-down or comeback.

The exact opposite is true, however. The so-called Dunning-Kruger Effect was debunked from the get-go because it's junk science, and those that like to toss this term around are unwittingly making fools of themselves.

http://www.talyarkoni.org/blog/2010/07/07/what-the-dunning-kruger-effect-is-and-isnt/

The article doesn't at all say that the DK effect is junk science.

He argues that the popular understanding of the effect overstates confidence in the mechanism and misstates the actual effect. I'd disagree with both, because his characterization of the public perceptions isn't how I see it used and Dunning himself came into the thread and highlighted why the alternative mechanisms proposed don't fit the further research that's been done.
 
Yeah this Dunning-Kruger thing, whatever it is, is certainly junk science, whatever that is. :rolleyes:
 
At minimum, it's extremely iffy, and there are quite a lot of good criticisms.
 
At minimum, it's extremely iffy, and there are quite a lot of good criticisms.

No doubt, you'll be sharing the best ones.

The article linked to in the OP is not one of them.
 
So the bias is definitively not that incompetent people think they’re better than competent people. Rather, it’s that incompetent people think they’re much better than they actually are. But they typically still don’t think they’re quite as good as people who, you know, actually are good. (It’s important to note that Dunning and Kruger never claimed to show that the unskilled think they’re better than the skilled; that’s just the way the finding is often interpreted by others.)
http://www.talyarkoni.org/blog/2010/07/07/what-the-dunning-kruger-effect-is-and-isnt/

If that is true, and I have no idea if it is, then something important has happened. Not that I would know.
 
http://www.talyarkoni.org/blog/2010/07/07/what-the-dunning-kruger-effect-is-and-isnt/

If that is true, and I have no idea if it is, then something important has happened. Not that I would know.

David Dunning himself says this is correct in the comments section:

The blog author is correct in describing what the original effect is–poor performers are overly confident relative to their actual performance. They are not more confident than high performers.

That doesn't at all make the DK effect junk science--it just means some people apparently misinterpreted the results.

And yes, the irony in this thread is palpable. :D
 
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David Dunning himself says this is correct in the comments section:



That doesn't at all make the DK effect junk science--it just means some people apparently misinterpreted the results.

And yes, the irony in this thread is palpable. :D

Yes it is, considering you either don't get it or are being deliberately obtuse.
 
Mention of the so-called Dunning-Kruger Effect has become popular in pop-culture circles, especially amongst those that think it amounts to a clever put-down or comeback.
Will you be supporting your assertion with examples of this supposed misuse?

The exact opposite is true, however. The so-called Dunning-Kruger Effect was debunked from the get-go because it's junk science, and those that like to toss this term around are unwittingly making fools of themselves.
Perhaps you should actually read the article?

Not only is the effect known and demonstrated, you can see it every day.
Indeed.

Yes it is, considering you either don't get it or are being deliberately obtuse.
:rolleyes:
 
Mention of the so-called Dunning-Kruger Effect has become popular in pop-culture circles, especially amongst those that think it amounts to a clever put-down or comeback.

The exact opposite is true, however. The so-called Dunning-Kruger Effect was debunked from the get-go because it's junk science, and those that like to toss this term around are unwittingly making fools of themselves.

http://www.talyarkoni.org/blog/2010/07/07/what-the-dunning-kruger-effect-is-and-isnt/

Blog citation? How about some research and data?
 
Yes it is, considering you either don't get it or are being deliberately obtuse.

I note as will others that you are unable to explain your ideas and thoughts and resort to rhetoric rather than critical thinking. Try joining the conversation, explain your self. maybe that is what the forum is about.

So it appears you can not defend your ideas, express them nor engage in critical debate.
 
As I understand it, D&K suggested it was the individual's very lack of competence in a field that prevented them from understanding how incompetent they were, thus they tended to overestimate their competence. It was a suggestion they savoured for its intrinsic irony.

Whether this was based on junk science or not, it certainly exists, and I suspect we've all come across examples of 'little do they know how little they know' - it's certainly common enough in these forums, and invoking the Dunning-Kruger Effect is often an appropriate ironic response.

As for its application to the OP, I don't think I'm competent to make that judgement...
 
I note as will others that you are unable to explain your ideas and thoughts and resort to rhetoric rather than critical thinking. Try joining the conversation, explain your self. maybe that is what the forum is about.

So it appears you can not defend your ideas, express them nor engage in critical debate.

Did you read the link? Apparently not.

I can and do defend my ideas. It's just that certain people here are getting away with repeated personal attacks and I'm getting rather sick of it.

The so-called "Dunning-Kruger Effect" was debunked almost as soon as it was out there in 1999 or so.

The assessment contained in the link I posted is typical of those who have actually assessed the D-K "effect".

What the D-K "effect" really is is a factoid, something that people would like to believe, that fits into the "snotty comeback" department, of which the D-K "effect" is one of the latest.

The fact of the matter is that people who know less are, in general, far more likely to keep their mouths shut. This is what the evidence shows.

D & K were relying on pop-perception and didn't back up their findings with any kind of methodology that stands up to serious scrutiny.

Their fans tend to be opinionated nits that want their junk science to be true, because if true it would make for a pithy comeback.

It doesn't. It just demonstrates the foolishness of those that buy into this type of nonsense.

A parallel example is the thinking behind AA, NA and CA. Despite that 12-steps organisations are cults with zero credibility, medical professionals and law courts rely heavily on them in terms of "treatment" and "rehabilitation".

Double-blind studies have demonstrated repeatedly that 12-step programmes have exactly the same rate of effectiveness as no treatment at all, meaning their rate of effectiveness is exactly zero. Yet despite the evidence these quack organisations are the standard in alcohol, narcotic and cocaine addiction treatment.

The "credibility" for these quack organisations stems not from any medical evidence, but rather from the 12-step angle, which of course involves the "higher power" nonsense, aka religion.

In the case of the D-K "effect", a certain element in the public want it to be true simply because it sounds and seems to be true. No amount of presenting studies and facts can or will dissuade its adherents because they want it to be true. To them it's obviously true, so in their minds it's true, whether it is or not (and it is demonstrably not).

What is true about adherents is that they like to thinking they're "putting people down" and/or "putting people in their place".

They're jerks, in other words.
 
I'm pretty sure I know more about this than you other people do. Unless, any of you are experts, then I'm pretty sure you know more about it than me, but not that much more.

Besides, isn't there already a perfectly good "junk science?" I thought that's pretty much what archeologists dig up and write papers about. (Please do not correct me unless you actually are an archeologist.)
 
As I understand it, D&K suggested it was the individual's very lack of competence in a field that prevented them from understanding how incompetent they were, thus they tended to overestimate their competence. It was a suggestion they savoured for its intrinsic irony.

Whether this was based on junk science or not, it certainly exists, and I suspect we've all come across examples of 'little do they know how little they know' - it's certainly common enough in these forums, and invoking the Dunning-Kruger Effect is often an appropriate ironic response.

As for its application to the OP, I don't think I'm competent to make that judgement...

No, the perception is that it certainly exists. This is what D & K were relying on- perception rather than facts.

According to studies done of the so-called D & K Effect, the perception is both misleading and wrong.

The list of things that fall into this category is a very long one.

Where I used to live the "drunken Indian" thing was such an example. Yet according to statistics, white Anglo-Saxon housewives tended to be alcoholics and substance-abusers at a far greater rate.

People of visible minorities were once deemed to be less intelligent than whites, until it was exposed that IQ tests were skewed in favour of a certain demographic (suburban white).

Again, it's about perception, not reality.
 
No, the perception is that it certainly exists. This is what D & K were relying on- perception rather than facts.

According to studies done of the so-called D & K Effect, the perception is both misleading and wrong.

The list of things that fall into this category is a very long one.

Where I used to live the "drunken Indian" thing was such an example. Yet according to statistics, white Anglo-Saxon housewives tended to be alcoholics and substance-abusers at a far greater rate.

People of visible minorities were once deemed to be less intelligent than whites, until it was exposed that IQ tests were skewed in favour of a certain demographic (suburban white).

Again, it's about perception, not reality.

I am unable to find anything in an admittedly cursory search that calls into question the validity of DK.

Are there any other references apart from that one you posted earlier?
 
Yes it is, considering you either don't get it or are being deliberately obtuse.

What does AdMan not get? The article clearly discusses a popular misconception of just what it is that the Dunning-Kruger effect describes. It says nothing about the actual Dunning-Kruger effect being junk science.
 
No, the perception is that it certainly exists. This is what D & K were relying on- perception rather than facts.

According to studies done of the so-called D & K Effect, the perception is both misleading and wrong. The list of things that fall into this category is a very long one.

Where I used to live the "drunken Indian" thing was such an example. Yet according to statistics, white Anglo-Saxon housewives tended to be alcoholics and substance-abusers at a far greater rate.

People of visible minorities were once deemed to be less intelligent than whites, until it was exposed that IQ tests were skewed in favour of a certain demographic (suburban white).

Again, it's about perception, not reality.

And you'll be providing links to the primary sources of the studies upon which you base your statements?
 
No, the perception is that it certainly exists. This is what D & K were relying on- perception rather than facts.
Could you explain this? How else does one experience an observation other than through perception?

Dunning and Kruger, in essence, simply put a name to an observed human behavior and offered a logical explanation for it.

According to studies done of the so-called D & K Effect, the perception is both misleading and wrong.
Which studies are these?

The list of things that fall into this category is a very long one.

Where I used to live the "drunken Indian" thing was such an example. Yet according to statistics, white Anglo-Saxon housewives tended to be alcoholics and substance-abusers at a far greater rate.

People of visible minorities were once deemed to be less intelligent than whites, until it was exposed that IQ tests were skewed in favour of a certain demographic (suburban white).

Again, it's about perception, not reality.
What does any of the above have to do with the Dunning Kruger effect being "junk science". If a layperson thought himself to be scientifically informed as to the cognitive inferiority on certain ethnic groups when, in fact, the information he was relying on was contradicted by current psychological research, then he would be an example of what the Dunning-Kruger describes. He would be over estimating his ability to participate in an informed discussion of human cognition, much like a creationist who attempts to interject "science" into an attack on evolutionary biology by mentioning thermodynamics in the belief that it shows evolution to be impossible.
 
The original study by Kruger and Dunning was in 1999. You can tell what the study involved just by reading the full name of the paper: Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments.

Since that time, there have been studies that either agreed or disagreed. So, another study was done in 2007 to try to address these issues. This study was by Ehrlinger, Johnson, Banner, Dunning, and Kruger. The paper is entitled: Why the Unskilled Are Unaware: Further Explorations of (Absent) Self-Insight Among the Incompetent and it contains 73 citations including previous work by the above authors, work done before the 1999 study, and work done since the 1999 paper. Fortunately, that paper is available here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2702783/#R48

If there is any doubt about what this paper involves, let me quote the abstract:

People are typically overly optimistic when evaluating the quality of their performance on social and intellectual tasks. In particular, poor performers grossly overestimate their performances because their incompetence deprives them of the skills needed to recognize their deficits. Five studies demonstrated that poor performers lack insight into their shortcomings even in real world settings and when given incentives to be accurate. An additional meta-analysis showed that it was lack of insight into their own errors (and not mistaken assessments of their peers) that led to overly optimistic estimates among poor performers. Along the way, these studies ruled out recent alternative accounts that have been proposed to explain why poor performers hold such positive impressions of their performance.

Next, you can easily see what the issues are just by looking at the three section introductions.

1. Section 1 was designed to directly address the claims that apparent over and underestimation among bottom and top performers can be reduced to statistical and methodological artifacts.

Thus, in Part 1, we looked at real world cases in which people approached (often challenging) tasks that they would encounter anyway in their everyday lives, rather than ones managed by experimenters to seem either easy or difficult.

2. If this is the case, what appears to be an inability to assess the quality of one’s performance on the part of the unskilled might actually be an unwillingness to do so accurately, in that the unskilled prefer to report a rosy view of their performance. Under this analysis, those who are unskilled can and will recognize how poorly they have performed if properly motivated. Thus, in the three studies comprising the second section, we offered incentives to encourage participants to provide accurate self-assessments. If the unskilled are truly unable to evaluate the quality of their performances, their performance estimates should remain inflated even in the face of strong incentives to be accurate.

3. In Section 3, however, we provide a meta-analysis of existing data to look directly at the specific errors leading to overestimation of comparative performance among poor performers and underestimation by top performers.

If we could tie patterns of over- and underestimation more closely to the types of specific errors predicted by Kruger and Dunning (1999), we would then provide evidence in support of (or against) their account.

The actual experiments, methods, and graphs are in the body of the paper. However, we can skip to the concluding remarks:

Taken together, these findings reaffirm the notion that poor performers show little insight into the depth of their deficiencies relative to their peers. They tend to think they are doing just fine relative to their peers when, in fact, they are at the bottom of the performance distribution. By now, this phenomenon has been demonstrated even for everyday tasks, about which individuals have likely received substantial feedback regarding their level of knowledge and skill.
 
Mention of the so-called Dunning-Kruger Effect has become popular in pop-culture circles, especially amongst those that think it amounts to a clever put-down or comeback.

The exact opposite is true, however. The so-called Dunning-Kruger Effect was debunked from the get-go because it's junk science, and those that like to toss this term around are unwittingly making fools of themselves.

http://www.talyarkoni.org/blog/2010/07/07/what-the-dunning-kruger-effect-is-and-isnt/

Thanks for the link - it's interesting. However, it doesn't say DK is junk science, nor does it "debunk" it or even attempt to. On the contrary, it says the effect is real and has been confirmed multiple times since the original study.

The only thing your link calls into question is DK's explanation for the origin of the effect. It suggests the DK effect can be explained partially by statistical regression to the mean - but it is obvious from a glance at the data (and the link says this) that rttm cannot account for all or even most of the effect. If there is significant regression and in addition everyone overestimates their abilities (in a way that's not necessarily correlated with their actual skill), that might account for the DK effect.

As far as I can see that's not actually very different from DK's explanation, and it's not clear it even works given various followup studies.
 
It's most definitely real. Take a look at General Skepticisim and The Paranormal for perfect examples.
 
Is the OP some sort of self-fulfilling statement? :confused: and/or :boggled:

The layers... the complexity... :jaw-dropp

The article linked in the OP says that people who don't understand the Dunning-Kruger effect nonetheless refer to it incorrectly, believing they at least understand it well enough to apply it.

The OP then confidently explains that the Dunning-Kruger effect has been debunked, citing the linked article, which actually doesn't debunk the effect (it debunks a myth about the effect and discusses alternative causes for the effect, but I can't see that it debunks the effect itself).

I don't know, I may be completely misunderstanding both the linked article and the OP, but that's just my take on it at first glance.

;)
 
It's pretty obvious that people who use the DK effect as an insult are suffering from the DK effect. Because they seem to think it's a clever put down, and they are above such nonsense.
 
When in reality if you really think you are arguing with somebody who is so dense they can't recognize their own denseness, then you are pretty stupid, because you are arguing with somebody who is too stupid to ever realize how smart you are.

Then, who is the real dummy?
 
Did you read the link? Apparently not.

I can and do defend my ideas. It's just that certain people here are getting away with repeated personal attacks and I'm getting rather sick of it.

The so-called "Dunning-Kruger Effect" was debunked almost as soon as it was out there in 1999 or so.

The assessment contained in the link I posted is typical of those who have actually assessed the D-K "effect".

What the D-K "effect" really is is a factoid, something that people would like to believe, that fits into the "snotty comeback" department, of which the D-K "effect" is one of the latest.

The fact of the matter is that people who know less are, in general, far more likely to keep their mouths shut. This is what the evidence shows.

D & K were relying on pop-perception and didn't back up their findings with any kind of methodology that stands up to serious scrutiny.

Their fans tend to be opinionated nits that want their junk science to be true, because if true it would make for a pithy comeback.

It doesn't. It just demonstrates the foolishness of those that buy into this type of nonsense.

A parallel example is the thinking behind AA, NA and CA. Despite that 12-steps organisations are cults with zero credibility, medical professionals and law courts rely heavily on them in terms of "treatment" and "rehabilitation".

Double-blind studies have demonstrated repeatedly that 12-step programmes have exactly the same rate of effectiveness as no treatment at all, meaning their rate of effectiveness is exactly zero. Yet despite the evidence these quack organisations are the standard in alcohol, narcotic and cocaine addiction treatment.

The "credibility" for these quack organisations stems not from any medical evidence, but rather from the 12-step angle, which of course involves the "higher power" nonsense, aka religion.

In the case of the D-K "effect", a certain element in the public want it to be true simply because it sounds and seems to be true. No amount of presenting studies and facts can or will dissuade its adherents because they want it to be true. To them it's obviously true, so in their minds it's true, whether it is or not (and it is demonstrably not).

What is true about adherents is that they like to thinking they're "putting people down" and/or "putting people in their place".

They're jerks, in other words.

Yeah, rhetoric, then.
 
It's pretty obvious that people who use the DK effect as an insult are suffering from the DK effect. Because they seem to think it's a clever put down, and they are above such nonsense.

I don't see DK brought up as an insult. Usually it's done as an explanation.
 
When in reality if you really think you are arguing with somebody who is so dense they can't recognize their own denseness, then you are pretty stupid, because you are arguing with somebody who is too stupid to ever realize how smart you are.

Then, who is the real dummy?

As has been pointed out in man, many long running and apparently futile threads continue where one poster is absolutely sure of their position despite the carefully crafted and well researched responses to the contrary. This threads are generally deemed not to be for the benefit of the OP and their supporters, and not particularly for the benefit of the other participants but instead for the benefit of lurkers who may not be aware of how thin the OP is.
 
The layers... the complexity... :jaw-dropp

The article linked in the OP says that people who don't understand the Dunning-Kruger effect nonetheless refer to it incorrectly, believing they at least understand it well enough to apply it.

The OP then confidently explains that the Dunning-Kruger effect has been debunked, citing the linked article, which actually doesn't debunk the effect (it debunks a myth about the effect and discusses alternative causes for the effect, but I can't see that it debunks the effect itself).

I don't know, I may be completely misunderstanding both the linked article and the OP, but that's just my take on it at first glance.

;)

Thank the Blessed IPU for posting. I was beginning to think I had a problem. :eek:
 
The most salient feature of the so-called D-K "effect" is not its claim to being a factual observation (which is demonstrably is not), but rather what it tells you about the type of person that likes to invoke it.

The "effect" entails a particular mentality. The claim, rather than telling you anything useful about the person to whom it's directed, instead speaks volumes about the person, and particularly the kind of person, who would want to do what the claim entails.

What does the claim entail? First and foremost it's a put-down, an insult, a matter of trying to put someone down or "put them in their place". That in itself is bad enough, but the D-K "effect" is actually worse, as it's meant to stigmatise and ostracise someone in a mean-spirited manner.

Why would someone do such a thing? Why would someone want to stigmatise and ostracise another person? Because the D-K mentality appeals to a low and disgusting side of Human nature.

What I've personally noted about the D-K (one might be tempted to say it's an acronym of "dickish) mentality is its prevalence in Internet Forums, where it appears to be most widely used by cliques of trolls who get their jollies preying upon those whose views are less popular. The D-K "effect" is generally used to isolate, stigmatise and ostracise those who hold to less popular views, views that generally fly in the face of the "everyone knows that" mentality.

The truth, however, is that the D-K mentality is an attack on the person, not on the person's views, and as such should merit a warning each and every time it is invoked. After all, the forum guidelines do say that personal attacks are not allowed.

For that reason I would like the moderator(s) reading this to consider adding the invoking of the D-K "effect" to their list of violations.
 
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Did you read the link? Apparently not.

I can and do defend my ideas. It's just that certain people here are getting away with repeated personal attacks and I'm getting rather sick of it.

The so-called "Dunning-Kruger Effect" was debunked almost as soon as it was out there in 1999 or so.

The assessment contained in the link I posted is typical of those who have actually assessed the D-K "effect".

What the D-K "effect" really is is a factoid, something that people would like to believe, that fits into the "snotty comeback" department, of which the D-K "effect" is one of the latest.

The fact of the matter is that people who know less are, in general, far more likely to keep their mouths shut. This is what the evidence shows.

D & K were relying on pop-perception and didn't back up their findings with any kind of methodology that stands up to serious scrutiny.

Their fans tend to be opinionated nits that want their junk science to be true, because if true it would make for a pithy comeback.

It doesn't. It just demonstrates the foolishness of those that buy into this type of nonsense.

A parallel example is the thinking behind AA, NA and CA. Despite that 12-steps organisations are cults with zero credibility, medical professionals and law courts rely heavily on them in terms of "treatment" and "rehabilitation".

Double-blind studies have demonstrated repeatedly that 12-step programmes have exactly the same rate of effectiveness as no treatment at all, meaning their rate of effectiveness is exactly zero. Yet despite the evidence these quack organisations are the standard in alcohol, narcotic and cocaine addiction treatment.

The "credibility" for these quack organisations stems not from any medical evidence, but rather from the 12-step angle, which of course involves the "higher power" nonsense, aka religion.

In the case of the D-K "effect", a certain element in the public want it to be true simply because it sounds and seems to be true. No amount of presenting studies and facts can or will dissuade its adherents because they want it to be true. To them it's obviously true, so in their minds it's true, whether it is or not (and it is demonstrably not).

What is true about adherents is that they like to thinking they're "putting people down" and/or "putting people in their place".

They're jerks, in other words.

More unsupported assertions and a bad analogy.

So far no critical debate or conversation.

Where is the actual data about the D-K effect?
 
The most salient feature of the so-called D-K "effect" is not its claim to being a factual observation (which is demonstrably is not), but rather what it tells you about the type of person that likes to invoke it.

You keep claiming this but have yet to back it up.

Now you're just moving the goalposts.
 
Bollocks! It's invariably used as an insult. I would go one further- it's a personal attack.

I'm about 95% in agreement with you as sometimes a lot of the time it's a convenient rhetoric but sometimes it is true. Would I say it's a personal attack - it depends on the context. Misusing it as an ad hom and yes I'd say that it is a personal attack. Using it to state that the OP is talking cobblers and doesn't even know it, it is useful. It's also a lot more tactful than shouting "you're talking cobblers but are too dense to realise it!" ;)

Off topic: Personally I'd like to see the mods add being patronising, being pompous, picking nits and being egotistical big no-nos.
 
I don't see DK brought up as an insult. Usually it's done as an explanation.

Well...

I once said that a poster had apparently fallen out of the Dunning-Kruger tree and hit every branch on the way down.

I could see that as being interpreted as an insult.
 
The so-called Dunning-Kruger "effect" also does not take the situational into account.

For example, I have a degree in welding, which I've put to use from time to time over the years. I've done everything from ornamental ironwork to structural steel to fabrication.

If you have a room full of welders and ask someone to step up and demonstrate or show knowledge in a certain specific area (this often happens when new projects are undertaken), only those that know what they're doing have the confidence to step up and go to it. In other words, you're not going to see any sign of the so-called D-K "effect". Those less confident in their abilities are also less good at what they do. In the welding world, confidence, knowledge and expertise go hand-in-hand.

I'm primarily a writer/musician. If I were in a room full of trumpet players, and someone asked the room in general for volunteers to tackle something especially difficult, those most confident will step forward. Not only that, but those in the room know who the best players are, and the best players are invariably the most confident. Again, confidence, knowledge and expertise go hand-in-hand.

The D-K claim that the more knowledge and expertise a person has, the less certain that person is, is patent bollocks. Nowhere have I ever observed this to be the case, except with certain individuals who lack confidence, no matter their level of knowledge and expertise, and those are rare.

The fact of the matter is that the greater a person's knowledge and expertise, the greater their level of confidence, because confidence building tends to be part of the process
 
gsmonks.

Every single poster in here besides yourself feels that the article does not say what you seem to think it says. Perhaps you should consider that instead of a dozen critical thinkers all being wrong in the same way (for which I can't imagine a likely mechanism or motivation), perhaps it is you who have not understood the article.

If the article says anything about debunking the DK effect, simply quote that part of the article and we can discuss it. I and EVERY OTHER POSTER here have failed to find what you're referring to.
 
Mention of the so-called Dunning-Kruger Effect has become popular in pop-culture circles, especially amongst those that think it amounts to a clever put-down or comeback.

The exact opposite is true, however. The so-called Dunning-Kruger Effect was debunked from the get-go because it's junk science, and those that like to toss this term around are unwittingly making fools of themselves.

http://www.talyarkoni.org/blog/2010/07/07/what-the-dunning-kruger-effect-is-and-isnt/

Why so defensive?
 

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