Good grades aren’t everything, sure. But good education, an open mind, and intellectual humility are all undervalued. Way, way undervalued. And you can see the results when you go on social media.
Look, the fact is that everyone, no matter where they’re from, makes mistakes from time to time. But some folks are so loud with their wrong opinions that other netizens can’t help but take notice. Some of the most egregiously uneducated and arrogant internet users get called out by members of one satirical Facebook group. We’re bringing you the cringiest posts and comments to make you laugh as you facepalm.
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Image source: Hilary Stoker
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
The satirical ‘America is the ONLY country in the world!!!1!’ pokes fun at the global stereotype that some US citizens are narcissistic, lack education, and have little to no awareness of the rest of the world and other cultures.
Of course, despite the focus of this particular Facebook group, it’s worth remembering that absolutely everyone makes mistakes and has knowledge blind spots, no matter what country they’re from.
Learning never stops. And it takes real humility and courage to admit you don’t know something instead of pretending that your half-baked opinions and misremembered interpretations are the same as objective truth.
But you need intellectual humility for that. In reality, some people like to claim they know more about the world than they actually do. They are guilty of what’s known as ‘overclaiming’ and pretend to be experts.
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Image source: Tamara Essex
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Image source: Vedran Surjak
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Image source: Elisabet Madsen
Psychologist Elizabeth Krumrei-Mancuso explains that intellectual humility is your ability to recognize your intellectual limitations, as well as gaps and inaccuracies in your body of knowledge.
Being intellectually humble can affect many areas of your life, including politics, religion, and even your career.
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Image source: Leo Miller
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Image source: Ali Cohen
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
According to research conducted by Stav Atir, Emily Rosenzweig, and David Dunning in 2015, a phenomenon called ‘overclaiming’ leads people to overestimate their knowledge.
These individuals claim knowledge of concepts, events, and people that do not exist and cannot be known.
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Image source: Wat Aguy
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Image source: Colette Souza2715
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
The researchers noted that people overclaim to the extent that they perceive their personal expertise favorably.
Overclaiming can apply to vastly different areas of (perceived) expertise. For instance, in finance, science, geography, etc.
People may claim familiarity with geographical places that literally do not exist. Or they might state that they understand financial or scientific concepts that are fictitious.
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Image source: Nishant Moon Sirohi
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Image source: Gabrielle Lannes Maurey
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Image source: AL Richard Weller-Boyes
“The more individuals believe they know about a domain, the more likely they are to claim knowledge in that domain that they cannot possibly possess,” the researchers write.
Instead of people consulting a “mental index” that catalogs their knowledge, they “draw on preexisting self-perceptions of knowledge to make inferences about what they should or probably do know.”
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Anna Marland
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Image source: Mintaka
According to the researchers, “for domains of high self-perceived expertise, these inferences may induce a sense of familiarity with terms that sound plausibly real but are not.”
Alternatively, greater self-perceived knowledge motivates people to search their memories more actively for relevant knowledge.
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Neecey Aleshia
For example, someone who is well-versed in biology or geography might therefore be more motivated to “construct a plausible notion” of what a fictional term might mean.
The main problem with overclaiming should be obvious. Self-perceived experts may give bad advice “when they should give none.” People acting on this uneducated advice may be harmed.
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Image source: Maria Efe Efe
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
Another issue is that individuals who have a tendency to overclaim actually stop themselves from educating themselves further in those areas where they already think they’re experts.
“In other words, overclaiming may hinder people from truly achieving a valuable level of genuine knowledge.”
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Image source: Roy Darragh
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
Once you’re done chuckling, cringing, and upvoting the pics you loved to hate the most, share your thoughts in the comments at the bottom of this list.
Realistically speaking, what do you think can be done to improve the level of education around the world? Are there any areas where you ‘overclaim’ and think you’re an expert (even though you aren’t)?
Who is the most intellectually humble person you know? How do you stay curious and open-minded when there are so many strong opinions online? Let us know.
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Image source: Danny Levik
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Image source: Nicky Hamilton-Smith
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Anonymous participant
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Andrada Vasia Nane
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Image source: Peter Kenny
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Ann Skully
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Marcel Polei
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Image source: Marceline Mayda Hammond
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amiena Cox
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Kristian Bibby
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Image source: Anonymous participant
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Image source: André Brentel Fontenelle
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Image source: Marcin Dziedzic
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Image source: Sarah Bond
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Image source: Antoinette Yzelman
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Image source: Nishant Moon Sirohi
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Marion Maz Pennington
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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Image source: Amaar Jaz
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