We’ve all met that person.
The one who is unable to see past their personal opinions, and who will stubbornly stand by their argument when confronted with facts.
They come in the form of mansplainers, climate change deniers and flat earthers, and they are… frustrating.
But it turns out the people who seem to think they are always right, or that they know everything, are not, in fact, always right.
A study of over 1200 people from Pepperdine University has found that people with “intellectual humility”, which is the opposite of intellectual arrogance, are more likely to draw the correct conclusions in many situations.
“Research demonstrates that those who believe knowledge is certain are likely to incorrectly draw definitive conclusions from ambiguous evidence,” Elizabeth Krumrei-Mancuso, an author of the study explained.
“Individuals tend to distort information to fit their epistemological beliefs, which can affect their interpretation of information and knowledge acquisition,” the author added.
In conclusion, the study found that intellectual humility predicts less of a tendency to liberally claim knowledge of subjects.
It’s an ability to step back and acknowledge that your understanding of a certain subject is imperfect.
So if you think you’re dumb, rejoice, you may just be able to more accurately comprehend your own intelligence.
