Cognitive bias
Dunning-Kruger Effect
The less someone knows about a topic, the worse they tend to be at judging their own knowledge of it.
The less someone knows about a topic, the worse they tend to be at judging their own knowledge of it.
Example
Someone who read one article on nutrition confidently correcting a dietitian in the comments.
Judging how much you know about a subject is itself a skill, and it’s one of the first skills that’s missing when someone knows very little about that subject.
This is why a small amount of knowledge can produce a lot of confidence: the gaps in understanding are exactly what’s needed to see how large the remaining gaps are.
Confidence isn’t evidence of competence. Ask how deep someone’s actual experience with a topic goes, not just how sure they sound.