Confidence vs Knowledge
Confidence and knowledge are undoubtedly the two most important qualities one can possess. But if one loses track of the other, chaos takes the driver’s seat. The truth is that knowledge is almost completely useless without confidence, just as confidence is useless without knowledge. Simply, knowledge is the product and confidence is the method of delivery.
Tell me, how can someone possibly be confident in something they don’t understand? The answer is that confidence can also be driven by ignorance, although in this form it will eventually lead to failure. Without the backend support of knowledge, confidence is nothing more than misguided verve. Confidence without knowledge is like a sports car with a lawnmower engine.
Knowledge and Confidence: Successful Together, Useless Apart ( Confidence Vs Knowledge )
Knowledge and confidence are undoubtedly the two most important qualities one can possess. Together they create a universal groundwork for success regardless of the mission at hand. When combined, both knowledge and confidence directly fuel the promise of their counterpart, creating an unstoppable force of human potential. But if one loses track of the other, chaos takes the driver’s seat. The truth is that knowledge is almost completely useless without confidence, just as confidence is useless without knowledge.
Why do they rely so heavily on one another? In simple terms, knowledge is the product and confidence is the method of delivery. Consider the following:
- Knowledge without Confidence – Confidence is the vehicle for practical application. Without it most knowledge will remain at rest, never seeing the full potential of real world value. Knowledge without confidence is like a healthy set of lungs without air.
- Confidence without Knowledge – Knowledge is the product of reason. How can someone possibly be confident in something they don’t understand? The answer is that confidence can also be driven by ignorance, although in this form it will eventually lead to failure. Without the backend support of knowledge, confidence is nothing more than misguided verve. Confidence without knowledge is like a sports car with a lawnmower engine.
Research
At Harvard University, Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons carried out a number of experiments on this topic. In one experiment known as The Invisible Gorilla (now a classic in psychology), two groups, one wearing black and the other wearing white, pass two basketballs around. The viewers are asked to count the number of times the basketball is passed, something that is easy to do. Interestingly, half the viewers completely miss that a gorilla walks through the action and thumps its chest. Even more interesting, according to Simons, is the deep-rooted belief held by most people that they would notice something as out of place as a gorilla at basketball practice. In a survey commissioned by Chabris and Simons, more than 75 percent of a representative sample of American adults “agreed that they would notice such unexpected events, even when they are focused on something else.” Two things stand out from this experiment: people miss a lot of what goes on around them and they often have no idea that they are missing so much. They don’t know that they don’t know.
Another experiment by Chabris and Simon involved groups of people working together to solve a math problem. Instead of deferring to the person with the greatest math knowledge, the group deferred to the most confident person, regardless of that person’s knowledge. In 94 percent of the cases, each group’s final answer was the first answer suggested, regardless whether it was right or wrong, and it was the most confident person present who offered this answer.
Teams make the most progress when they are able to distinguish between confidence and knowledge. Effective team leaders make sure that everyone has input. The leader does help the group recognize the relationship between opinions and the actual knowledge and experience behind that information and does not just allow the most confident person to sway the result. Great team leaders also know that they do not know everything: that is why great leaders surround themselves with skilled and knowledgeable team members who do know a lot about their area of expertise. The leader and team members must explore what the individuals of the group actually know — before coming to a conclusion.
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