Know-nothing arrogance

[cjsmith]

(This idea has been running through my brain for some time. I finally said it in a comment in someone else's journal. Reposting, after nitpicky edits, here.)

There should be a specific word meaning "the type and amount of arrogance that leads a person with no formal training and no experience in a particular subject to believe he knows that subject better than someone who has lots of formal training and/or lots of experience in it". 'Cause it's common enough to deserve a name.

Whatever people decide to call it, I hope it's surgically correctable.

Comments

[apparentparadox]

I can't locate the source right now, but I remember reading about a study where they discovered something like the more you understand a subject, the better you are at judging your understanding of the subject (and vice versa). In other words, those people who really don't know what they are talking about don't even know that they don't know what they are talking about, and actually probably *can't* know that they don't know what they are talking about.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I remember that study too. The implications are queasymaking.

[allanh.livejournal.com]

Is that like the old Zen parable about "The more you know, the more you know you DON'T know"?

[airporter.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I like that one! May I, please?

[allanh.livejournal.com]

You may, but I'm not sure why, where, or when.