Young Philosopher's Society

“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.”

– Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American writer, aviator (you know she’s smart cuz she likes coffee)

Think about an opinion you have. Any opinion. It can be anything from a grand, all encompassing political philosophy, to something as paltry as your favourite flavour of ice cream.

Nowadays, it seems like everyone has an opinion on something- from the way you wear your jeans to the way the government is budgeting tax money, everywhere you go there is someone trying to inflict their opinion on you (one could argue, I am doing the same right here).

This is not new, nor is it revolutionary- rather it is innate, a biological instinct that we use to survive. Making judgements, especially quick ones, was important for early human societies to detect danger- both from within and without. Sticking to those judgements, in the face of danger, allowed our ancestors to survive even the most dangerous of circumstances.

Yet, what worked for the pre-historic man, may not work for the people of today- it actually may harm you.

Think about the inverse of your opinion, the “other side”. What do you think of them? Who are they? Stupid, lazy, or, for many, simply wrong may come to mind.

I am not saying your a bigot, nor am I saying your feelings are wrong- rather, they are the most natural.

The more calm among you may say “I don’t agree with them, but I respect their opinion”, which is a very fair response, and if human beings were islands unto themselves, it would be a rather good one. Yet, there comes a point when “respect” is not enough- you have to willingly and actively consider the opinion the other side presents, and question your own opinions and the justifiability of what you believe.

Why? Because we call all have our own opinions on ice cream, but when it comes to economic policy, social security, gun safety, and other larger, all-consuming political issues, simply sitting out of the conversation is not enough. For those of you who think you can, I caution you- you will be living in a world ruled by conversations that you were never a part of, in a world where your voice was never heard. I say this to both sides of the political spectrum- each of your opinions matter. There is something inherent you have to contribute to the conversations that will build your world. Your experience matters. Your voice matters. Not only to you, but also to the millions of people whom it could help.

Okay. So. We need to have these conversations, but that’s easier said than done.

That brings me to the second part of the title: the Dunning-Kruger effect. I’m warning you, this gets worse before it gets better, but through it, we can learn the solution.

Don’t worry, the Dunning-Kruger Effect isn’t some fancy psychobabble mumbo-jumbo, it’s actually pretty simple. Stupid people, think they are smart, and smart people think they are stupid. That might be a crass way of putting it, but is that is what it boils down too.

To make a bit of a finer point on it, when people are knowledgable on a topic, they know what they don’t know, meaning they know where there are gaps in their knowledge, and more readily accept the knowledge of others, to rectifying those gaps. Whereas, when you may not have as extensive knowledge on a subject, you don’t know where you gaps are. You are actually more confident in your ability, despite having less, and less willing to accept an outside opinion. I recommend this video if you want to study it further.

If you read our article on socratic thinking, this may sound very similar, and it is, but the Dunning-Kruger Effect shows some other elements, that are particularly salient to conversation of sharing viewpoints and communications between people of different viewpoints.

In a landmark study done by Ian G. Anson, published by the International Society of Political Psychology, that subjects that were less knowledgable on political topics (as I so eloquently put it in the paragraph above- “stupid people”), were more likely to judge people who had opposite political views as less knowledgable than they were. In order words, stupid people where more likely to think that people who disagreed with them, were stupider than them. This was seen with both Democrats and Republicans. On the other hand, people who scored higher on the same political tests, 80%+, often assumed people with opposing views were either as knowledgable , or even more knowledgable than they were.

I reference this not to say that people who think other people are stupid, are also stupid. Rather, I cite it to show the power of knowledge in our perceptions of others, and its ability to open doors.

We often judges the lives of others, in many different forms. We think they have it easy, we think they are mean, rude, stupid, annoying, etc. It is truly astounding the ways people have discredited those around them. Truly humanity deserves a medal for how many wars have been fought (both literally and figuratively) for conflicts that never existed anywhere other than our own minds. What is even more hilarious, is that those projections onto other people: annoying, mean, rude, reactive, dramatic- are often indicative of personal problems we have with ourselves, and what we lack in ourselves are often the problems we see in others. It’s almost as if, the real person we have a problem with, is ourselves.

Judge less, read more. Keep an open mind. Know what you are talking about, to furthest extent that you can. That alone, will change the way you view the world. It will show you new information, make you consider new perspectives. Even if you believe I am some over-zealous bleed-heart pacifist who thinks books can solve everything- prove me wrong, learn information that directly contradicts everything I said and contradict me. I am not saying that as a challenge because I think you won’t be able to do it- in fact I am sure you will able to, and what you learn along the way will expose you to more perspectives and opinions. How can it hurt to learn about the issues that impact you? Listening to the other side, escaping your soundbox, will allow you the opportunity to learn more about them. Think about it- telling people who already agree with you how right you are, is going to change nothing. Yet, if you speak to someone on the other side, you may convince them, and even if you don’t, if you were truly listening, you are giving yourself the opportunity to understand where they are coming from. In understanding that, you can begin to see them not as “other”, but as a person, and isn’t that worth something? And who knows, maybe you can incorporate their ideas to make your idea better than it ever was, and make the world a better place for both of you.

I am not naive enough to think listening to people and striving to know more will magically solve world hunger, poverty or bring about world peace. Yet, I cannot see any problem with it either. It’s effective, low-cost, and very easy to do, and even if it won’t drastically change the world, it will change you.