Knowing our limitations 了解自身能力的局限性

　　Humans can be poor judges of their own ability. So, you might not be as good, or as bad, as you think you are. Psychologists have found the less expertise you have in something, the more likely you are to overestimate your competence in it. And in a digital era where self-assured social media influencers give you 'life hacks', and face-to-face conversation is more limited, this psychological phenomenon seems important to remember.

　　This concept is called the Dunning-Kruger effect, named after the psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger. Back in the 90s, they found a correlation between a person's lack of skills and ability and a lack of awareness of lack of ability. They are ignorant to their own limitations. This plays out in various areas of life, such as in medical diagnosis. For example, Dunning told BBC Radio 4 that, one third of the time, doctors disagree with patients who self-diagnose using internet sources rather than seeing a medical professional. Whether it's judging jokes, logical reasoning, or grammar, the pattern is the same: the less skilled you are, the more over-confident you are.

　　On the flip side is intellectual humility. This means having a modest or low view of your importance or abilities. Elizabeth J. Krumrei-Mancuso, Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University, found that a higher willingness to acknowledge cognitive limitations, and the ability to embrace diverse perspectives, is connected with a more accurate perception of intelligence.

　　How can we use this knowledge to help us in everyday life? Tenelle Porter, a psychologist at Rowan University, told the BBC that knowing this "opens us up to being intellectually humble, to admitting everything that we don't yet know". And current studies suggest that those with higher intellectual humility are more open to negotiating, compromising and exploring information.

　　So, embrace the unknown and remember, there's always more to learn.

　　词汇表

　　judge 评判者，裁判

　　expertise 专业知识

　　overestimate 高估

　　competence 能力

　　self-assured 自信的

　　phenomenon 现象

　　lack 缺乏

　　ignorant 无知的

　　limitation 局限

　　skilled 有技能的

　　over-confident 过度自信的，自负的

　　intellectual humility 智性谦逊，认识并承认自己能力的局限性modest 谦逊的

　　willingness 意愿

　　perspective 观点，看待问题的角度

　　humble 谦虚的