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Writer's picturemansour ansari

Dunning-Kruger effect and Quantum Computing knowledge


The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know. The more I realize I don't know, the more i want to learn. Albert Einstein


If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself. Albert Einstein


At some point, you may have already experience this. You're sitting around with the other business men and women, doing a discussion table for a business meeting. Across the table from you is the new guy you haven't met before. He is new and comes with a plenty of "knowledge of the industry," supposedly. And with the most confident fashion, he opens his mouth and starts talking passionately on the subject he clearly knows very little about.


You look down at your smart phone, and in one quick search or even a memory search, you find out everything he's saying is completely wrong, based on wrong information, old information, or misinformation. But he doesn't seem to know it. Everyone else at the table doesn't seem to know it either or if they do, are not showing any reaction. His confidence is so strong and unwavering believable that you're starting to wonder, does this guy know how wrong he really is? What is happening here? You are witnessing the Dunning Kruger effect. People who know very little about a subject tend to overestimate how much they know because they just don't know how much they don't know. When it comes to quantum computing subject, it shows.


As a result, the people who are most confident in their ability are not usually the ones who should be. Think about it.



The term Dunning Kruger is named after the two scientists who first discovered the psychological phenomenon, David Dunning and Justin Kruger.


When we learn just a little bit about that subject. We start overestimating how much we actually know. We are aware that we know about the subject. However, we don't know enough to know that there's still so much more to learn. We are not yet skilled enough to accurately assess our knowledge and abilities. So we think we know much more than we actually do. Imagine you're given a test about quantum computing.


With that said, I know a little about quantum physics, some about classical physics, a lot about classical computers. My steadily-improving background knowledge provides me with enough knowledge to know that I don't know enough, but there is a strong desire to know more.

This blog is helping me with the goal.



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