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Ask HN: Are Dunning-Kruger and imposter syndrome related?
2 points by AnimalMuppet on April 27, 2022 | hide | past | favorite | 2 comments
It occurs to me that the Dunning-Kruger effect and imposter syndrome are like mirror images of each other. One is to see yourself as more competent than you are in areas that you know little about; the other is to see yourself as less competent than you are in areas that you know a large amount about. (In both cases, the better alternative is to evaluate yourself accurately.)

Are these things the opposite sides of the same coin? Are they the opposite ends of a spectrum of "the more you know, the more you know you don't know"? Or is the inverse similarity between them just superficial, and there is no relationship between them?




D-K: “I’ve read up, ask me anything”

Imposter: “I’ve read up, but man, there’s so much to know I’ll never know enough. People will see I’m faking it.”

PhD: “I’ve read up, have a good understanding of my field and even extended it. I’ve also learned how little I know.”

The first and third have self confidence. The second worries, but probably knows enough to do the work. The third knows whether they should even try, although D-K can occur outside of speciality.

The middle ground might just be the best hire.


I would say the PhD knows that collectively there is a lot that nobody knows!

This video on the topic is pretty good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9TT-Rw8ljg

and she makes the point that "Imposter Syndrome" is related to social mobility. A person who came from a working class background to get a PhD suffers from it much more than the child of professors.




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