Dunning-Kruger Club (Madison)

Welcome to the Dunning-Kruger Club. A space to confidently announce our conclusive views on important topics within the fields of science, politics, economics, philosophy, history, psychology, and more. We cover it all with the self-assurance of people who consider themselves authorities on every complex issue this world faces.

We don't fact-check. We don't learn. We say things. Our idea of public discourse is regurgitating hollow slogans with total conviction. Rather than defending consistent values, we use symbols to beat others with while simultaneously taking refuge under them to avoid criticism. Even if we have little to no actual information on the subject, we say it emphatically, and with the unflappable certainty that only a truly wise person would demonstrate. If we spent even a moment reflecting on the entirely alien concept of intellectual humility, we would instantly deem it a scourge to be eradicated.

We have absolutely no credentials on the topics we discuss. No degrees, no certificates, not even a class on the topic. We haven't read the literature, we don't know the theories, we don't know the frameworks. We don't know the laws and we don't know the regulatory landscape. We have no knowledge about the power structures, key players, stakeholders, or tensions that drive the dynamics of anything relating to the topics we discuss.

We aren't familiar with the tools, the methods, or routine processes that anyone who has done this a day in their life would know. We haven't even read a book to help clue us in on these deficiencies, and almost certainly never will.

We couldn't tell you what the key metrics are, how they've trended, or the factors that impact them and why. We have absolutely zero historical or social context, and haven't bothered to understand how and why the field has evolved the way it has over time.

We are constitutionally incapable of evaluating sources or assessing the credibility of anyone who talks about these subjects because we don't know enough to recognize our own ignorance. We view random Facebook commenters as thought leaders on any given subject. We wouldn't be able to spot a contradiction or inconsistency to save our lives-- even when they violate the fundamental tenets that govern the topic, which we also don't know. We can't even disabuse ourselves of basic misunderstandings we have, choosing instead to mindlessly repeat talking points that have been debunked long ago, all the while misappropriating basic terminology to feign literacy on the subject.

But at the Dunning-Kruger Club, we have it all figured out. Our raw intelligence along with our unbreakable confidence can easily overcome any deficit of knowledge or meaningful depth of exposure to the subjects at hand. We possess the preternatural ability to declare inarguable "common sense" assessments with ease, since whatever information we happen to have is all the information needed to judge the situation with finality, and not coincidentally probably all the information that exists anyway. In fact, we should be in charge of policy on any and all issues right now because clearly everyone else is an idiot, and couldn't possibly have a different view based on information unknown to us.

Join us! Let's get together and change the world!!