Mastering a Programming Language with Dunning-Kruger Effect

You could be one in that tech-savvy lot who is looking to improve your technical skill set by learning new computer languages to stabilize your position in the ever-evolving industry. You patiently sat through all those YouTube tutorials, marked the answers in endless online quizzes, read exhaustively all the syntaxes, queries and commands and finally feel you have a substantial grip over the language and its usage.

Hey, that isn’t all! Get your hands dirty, gain valuable hands-on experience, start programming and spew out codes to see how it actually turns up. Self-analyzes the efficiency of the programs you develop and also take them up to peer review to know the places where you lag and what could be avoided.

A lot of people develop a ‘false sense of self-content’ and ‘illusory superiority’ that their work skills exceed the average expectations and that they excel in the job.

What is the Dunning-Kruger effect?

The word was coined by two psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger who defined this case in people as their inability to identify their own incompetence. It has been noticed in every possible field among varying masses of people from different paths of life.

There is a very interesting case of a man who went to rob two Pittsburgh banks in broad daylight without any effort to cover his identity except of course some lemon juice spread all over his face! The psychologists who later observed him after getting him arrested revealed that that accused thought that he face would become invisible if he applied lemon juice over him believing it be to invisible ink.

Dunning-Kruger effect for programmers

The inability to see through facts and believing in one’s own potential with not even a slightest hint of doubt in it. There have also been several other cases where people have been identified with the similar condition related to their driving skills, behavioral skills and even academic performance.

So it shouldn’t come to you as a real surprise if programmers tend to over-estimate their coding skills as well!