This week’s book learning is part of the ongoing series of inspiring learnings from ‘Switch’ by Dan and Chip Heath.
A total stranger walks into a room and reads a weather report to the small audience. After he leaves the room, the participants are asked a simpe question – What is this man’s IQ?
Of course, there is no way they can make an educated guess from just one interaction. So, they take a wild guess at the fake weatherman’s IQ. Then, the weatherman is asked to guess his IQ. And, here is the crazy part – the total strangers get closer 66% of the time!
Think about that for a minute – the fake weatherman has all the information to make the right prediction. He knows how he thinks, he knows his aptitude, he knows the grade he has gotten in school, etc. But, the weatherman in this experiment consistently rated himself higher than he actually was.
Other bits of research that illustrate this point are that college students do a better job predicting the longevity of their roommate’s relationships than their own, 25% of people surveyed believed they were in the top 1% in the ability to get along with people and that 94% of college professors report that they do above-average work.
So, it’s a proven fact that we tend to vastly overestimate our own ability. This only further illustrates the importance of the people we spend time with and developing the habit of laughing at ourselves. Hopefully, we surround ourselves by those who call bullshit on us when necessary. :)
And, hopefully, we lead the way by laughing at ourselves every once in a while!
So, here’s to some self depreciating humor every day this week!
A Learning a Day 