Context: I’m a second year medical student and currently residing in the deepest pit in the valley of the Dunning-Kruger graph, but am still constantly frustrated and infuriated with the push for introducing AI for quasi-self-diagnosis and loosening restrictions on inadequately educated providers like NP’s from the for-profit “schools”.
So, anyone else in a similar spot where you think you’re kinda dumb, but you know you’re still smarter than robots and people at the peak of the Dunning-Kruger graph in your field?
IMHO, the best folks always have some sense of impostor syndrome. It compels them to think critically through their work, and they tend to be the folks that ask others for their opinions.
Overly confident people often don’t do that shit, but they also often mesmerize people with their confidence and fail up. Despite their poor performance, they climb the ladder.
That’s not to say that people shouldn’t be confident about your abilities. They should. That said, I try to judge people on what they’ve done, not how charming they are.
For competent people, I’m not even sure Impostor Syndrome is a real thing as much as it is just intimate knowledge of your own limitations, and making judgment calls based on knowledge of your own limitations. Does it mean you’re not capable of those things? No, it just means you’re aware that you lack knowledge in that arena. It’s not as though you can’t gain new knowledge. The most educated seem to be really aware of the things they don’t know, and look to other experts for the things they don’t know.
I’d say knowledge of your own limitations and and unwillingness to sell yourself as being more competent than you are in general are positives overall, indeed.
Hearing a doctor say “I don’t know” is actually a great sign of competence and humility IMO
Honestly, I would have WAY rather had some doctors tell me “I don’t know, let me get another opinion from someone,” instead of misdiagnosing me because they felt they needed to confidently give me a bad answer.
That shit would’ve saved me a lot of pain, suffering, and surgical procedures.
It’s not quite a catchphrase yet, but when discussing cases or whatever, I frequently use the sentence: “I’m not sure, lemme go look that up.”
I try to remind myself that I’ve only gotten as far as I have because of hard work. I don’t have any special talent, I’m not some kind of genius, I just know how to work hard for the things that matter.