Please Act Now Before It's Too Late

It's the last day of 2016 and there is still time to make a generous donation to help combat the fastest growing disorder in this country.  The Dunning–Kruger effect is a debilitating condition that has afflicted at least 62,979,636 Americans according to most recent data.

In simplest terms, Dunning-Kruger occurs when people fail to adequately assess their level of competence or specifically, their incompetence, at any given subject or task.  In many cases, incompetence does not leave people disoriented or perplexed.  Instead, those afflicted are often empowered with an inappropriate confidence, buoyed by something that feels to them like knowledge.  The results can be catastrophic.

What can you do to help?  Several things, but first, make sure you're not suffering from this debilitating disorder yourself by taking this quick test.  Read the following statements:

• President Obama's birth certificate is fraudulent.
• Unemployment in America stands at 42%.
• Mexico will pay to build a border wall.
• Global warming is an expensive hoax.
• When you’re a star, they let you do it, you can do anything.

If you agree with these statements or voted for someone that has made these statements then, tragically, you have already contracted Dunning-Kruger.  Now you might say, "That's ridiculous, I feel fine." but sadly and by virtue of the effect itself, you are too incompetent to realize you've been afflicted.  At this point, you should simply stop reading.  Research has shown you are incapable of helping yourself.

If you passed the quick test above, there's still hope and here are three things you can do to help contain this terrible epidemic:

Inoculate yourself with facts - research and check things you hear, see, and say.  It's time consuming and sometimes difficult but complete information is the most important defense against succumbing to Dunning-Kruger yourself.

Help Others that cannot help themselves - you may have friends or family that are afflicted.  With their cognitive abilities impaired, these loved ones may resort to anger when they are presented with opposing points of view or they may simply retreat into a cocoon of baseless positions and withdrawal from all intelligent conversation.  In many ways, this is like dealing with a child that believes in the Tooth Fairy.  If you've inoculated yourself with facts you can try and spread the cure through calm repetition and reassurance.  Depending on how long your loved one has been afflicted, it may take repeated attempts for the cure to take hold.   Be aware, it may not work at all.  Some people may be chronically incompetent but you must try.

Join a support group - there are many out there:  The American Civil Liberties Union, The Anti-Defamation League, Amnesty International, The Human Rights Campaign, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Electronic Frontier Foundation, are just a few.  Those and many more can help give you peace of mind that there is still hope.  All can use your time and financial assistance to combat the effects of Dunning-Kruger.

The road to recovery will not be easy and it's estimated that it will be at least another four years before those that have been recently afflicted can begin to show signs improvement.  Please act now before it's too late.