Back in November, I wrote a draft in Blogger about something I call American Idol Syndrome, defined (by me) as, "a person's oblivious, gross overestimation of their own talent."
You know, the really bad contestants. The ones who beg for a second chance; the ones who scream at Simon that he doesn't know what he's talking about because their mother told them they were good; the ones who tell the judges they'll be sorry for passing over them, The Next Big Thing.
American Idol Syndrome.
I never posted the blog and because I figured there was a real, scientific theory that explained the phenomenon and I was too lazy to research it. Last week, the blogfather himself, Nathan Bransford, blogged about something called the Dunning-Kruger effect and all my questions were answered.
Here's Nathan's explanation:
My first reaction to learning of the Dunning-Kruger effect was - oh, good! I'm one of those good people who underrate themselves! I'm not one of the American Idol crazies!
But then I thought... wait... because I said that, does that mean I am one of the crazies?
What if I have American Idol Syndrome? What if I'm just another hack tap-tap-tapping away on the keyboard, wasting my life? What if people laugh at me behind my back, roll their eyes and say, "Oh yeah, she thinks she's a writer."
You know, the really bad contestants. The ones who beg for a second chance; the ones who scream at Simon that he doesn't know what he's talking about because their mother told them they were good; the ones who tell the judges they'll be sorry for passing over them, The Next Big Thing.
American Idol Syndrome.
I never posted the blog and because I figured there was a real, scientific theory that explained the phenomenon and I was too lazy to research it. Last week, the blogfather himself, Nathan Bransford, blogged about something called the Dunning-Kruger effect and all my questions were answered.
Here's Nathan's explanation:
The basic theory is that when people are incompetent at something they tend to lack the ability to realize it and they overrate their abilities relative to others. Meanwhile, people who actually are good at something tend to underrate their abilities and may as a result suffer from lack of confidence.Nathan's point was that if you don't always have sterling confidence in your writing, that may be a good thing.
My first reaction to learning of the Dunning-Kruger effect was - oh, good! I'm one of those good people who underrate themselves! I'm not one of the American Idol crazies!
But then I thought... wait... because I said that, does that mean I am one of the crazies?
What if I have American Idol Syndrome? What if I'm just another hack tap-tap-tapping away on the keyboard, wasting my life? What if people laugh at me behind my back, roll their eyes and say, "Oh yeah, she thinks she's a writer."
Because, hey, these people are so sure that they are the best at what they do. And in the back of my head, I'm pretty darn sure I'm good - sure enough to keep going, at least. So how do I know I'm not one of them?
Maybe that's the difference, though - the fact I ponder it, the fact I worry whether I am one of them. Those people we watch during the first crazy weeks of AI auditions are so sure they're the best. They don't even think twice.
And I know I'm not the best. What I know is that I have talent and ability and that if I work long enough and hard enough, it might just pay off.
How can you know for sure if you are a sufferer of Dunning-Kruger?
How do you know you are her...
...instead of her?
