The Dunning-Kruger effect

In an age where getting attention has never been easier. There so many voices and opinions online, that it can get overwhelming. It's a double edged sword how we can so easily let out our opinions into the ether.I doubt there has ever been a time,  where one can be exposed to other schools of thought and cultures so easily. Imagine the echo chamber one would be stuck in,  five hundred years ago, because all that you knew was limited to the boundaries of your village. 

The issue now is discerning what is actually edifying and true. Eloquence is not always a reflection of trustworthiness. The fact that something is packaged in an appealing manner, does not always mean that it is the genuine article. Unfortunately what is superficially appealing can garner so much attention quickly. All it has to be is a well edited clip that baits the watcher into following whatever the philosophy of the day is.  

I have to be weary and conscious of it myself. The fact that I have access to a platform means I have to be careful with what I express. There is a quote from a famous comic book, that I love to paraphrase. With great responsibility comes great power. I have this responsibility to make sure, that whatever ripple effect my words have, tends to be more for the good than bad. Once I press publish or upload or the words come out of my mouth I can't really take them back. At the very least, I know the internet never forgets. 

I can not be speaking with an authoritative voice, especially about matters that I am not an expert in. In fact, the more one tends to learn about a subject, the more one understands how little they actually know compared to the matters they do not know. Speaking out of ignorance is nothing but folly, just as the empty vessels are the loudest. Those who happen to be the most vocal at times tend to be the most ignorant. 

That is the Dunning-Kruger effect, when we start out learning about a topic, we tend to be loud and confident about it. As time passes and more knowledge is acquired, we start to slow down and realize that, things are not as simple or as clear. This stops me in my tracks, before I give a  spirited opinion about a matter. Do I actually know enough about what is being discussed to chime in, in such a manner. 

The sacred texts get it spot on even in this manner. We ought to be slow to speak and quick to listen. Are we often engaged in matters to seek to learn and gain other perspectives, or are we seeking to be correct. I still have to remember that I have gaps in my knowledge and that there are still other points of view to consider. I hope you may remember that it is fine to discover that you do not know in order to learn, coupled with the fact that your favorite source of information is not the end of all knowledge.