What is the Dunning–Kruger effect?

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which unskilled individuals suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than average

Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge -- Charles Darwin

One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision -- Bertrand Russell

Kruger and Dunning proposed that, for a given skill, incompetent people will:

tend to overestimate their own level of skill;
fail to recognize genuine skill in others;
fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy;
recognize and acknowledge their own previous lack of skill, if they are exposed to training for that skill


http://en.wikipedia....

What is a Preference Cascade?

A preference cascade occurs when people trapped inside a manufactured consensus suddenly realize that many other people share their doubts. Preference falsification works by making doubters feel isolated and alone. In a totalitarian society, the dissenter fears that if he speaks up, his will be a lone voice, easily squashed by the enforcers of the regime. When dissenters realize they are not alone, and the true strength of their numbers becomes apparent, “invincible” regimes vanish with astonishing speed.

The same effect can occur without brutal oppression, when fear of ostracism and ridicule cause people to suppress their own doubts. This kind of preference falsification requires strict discipline from the makers of opinion. Since a free society makes it very easy for individuals to change their opinions, they must be prevented from even considering such a change. Manufactured consensus is very fragile in a competitive arena of ideas.


http://beforeitsnews...ade-231156.html

What is Megalomania?

The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. H. L. Mencken

Megalomania-

greed for power: an excessive enjoyment in having power over other people and a craving for more of it

What is Megalomania?

The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. H. L. Mencken

Megalomania-

greed for power: an excessive enjoyment in having power over other people and a craving for more of it

THIS IS:
Our current government regardless of "party line". Most have gone "heady-giddy" with the want to rule our everyday eat, drink, sleep, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,

What is Psychological projection?

Psychological projection is a psychological defense mechanism where a person subconsciously denies his or her own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, usually to other people.



http://en.wikipedia....ical_projection

What is Machiavellian behavior?

A Machiavellian person, Prof. Aziz explains, is emotionally detached, prone to deceive and believes that the end justifies the means, even if it is not morally right. "Machiavelli believed in using dirty tricks in order to succeed," says Harvey Mansfield, professor of government at Harvard University and author of numerous books on Machiavelli.

"The key word in Machiavellian is manipulation," Prof. Aziz says. "It's a dirty word, but in our average daily life, we always manipulate information." Machiavellian people are very good in business situations and are astute at reading others, Mr. Aziz says. "They need to understand the needs of other people and gain their trust," he says.


http://professional....p;mg=reno64-wsj

The psychopaths among us -- Between one and three per cent of the population could be certifiably deemed psychopathic,

"One of the misconceptions about psychopathy itself is that people think a psychopath goes out and kills people. By definition, they are somebody that is recklessly indifferent to any physical, emotional harm they may cause," criminal mind expert Steve van Aperen said.

There are certainly many undiagnosed psychopaths in business and politics."

often people get confused between the terms psychopath and psychotic. The distinction is reality. Those suffering from psychosis have lost grip on reality. Those deemed psychopathic are very much aware of it, and are attempting to control it.

They are often easy to spot and follow a defined set of traits that set them apart from normality.

"The corporate psychopath gets into politics because they are usually exceedingly ego-oriented - it is all about them. So even when they get criticism, it is still all about them,"

"They love the centre of attention. Good or bad they see themselves being the centre of the universe.

"They are the great users, the great manipulators, they often have aides and underlings do work for them, and expect blind loyalty but they don't give loyalty in return. They use everyone for gain.




http://www.dailytele...2-1226694584192

The psychopaths among us -- Between one and three per cent of the population could be certifiably deemed psychopathic,

"One of the misconceptions about psychopathy itself is that people think a psychopath goes out and kills people. By definition, they are somebody that is recklessly indifferent to any physical, emotional harm they may cause," criminal mind expert Steve van Aperen said.

There are certainly many undiagnosed psychopaths in business and politics."

often people get confused between the terms psychopath and psychotic. The distinction is reality. Those suffering from psychosis have lost grip on reality. Those deemed psychopathic are very much aware of it, and are attempting to control it.

They are often easy to spot and follow a defined set of traits that set them apart from normality.

"The corporate psychopath gets into politics because they are usually exceedingly ego-oriented - it is all about them. So even when they get criticism, it is still all about them,"

"They love the centre of attention. Good or bad they see themselves being the centre of the universe.

"They are the great users, the great manipulators, they often have aides and underlings do work for them, and expect blind loyalty but they don't give loyalty in return. They use everyone for gain.




http://www.dailytele...2-1226694584192

What do you know? You've actually posted something that's factual.

But I don't know why you had to go all the way to Australia to pluck an example. We have plenty of plucks right here at home.

Mitt Romney:

"The corporate psychopath gets into politics because they are usually exceedingly ego-oriented - it is all about them. So even when they get criticism, it is still all about them,"

"They love the centre of attention. Good or bad they see themselves being the centre of the universe.

"They are the great users, the great manipulators, they often have aides and underlings do work for them, and expect blind loyalty but they don't give loyalty in return. They use everyone for gain.

There could not be a more precise description of the man from Bain. Even when his "47 percent statement" showed he could not feel the pain of 47 percent of the country and even though it cost him the election, he was still so wrapped up in himself, he didn't get it (so astonished he lost when he had no chance and so sure he was going to win he didn't even consider a concession speech). I guess by the terms of your article here, we'd have to say Mitt Romney: "Stamped Psychopath."

Or how about Rush Limbaugh? Remember when he attacked that young Georgetown student, Sandra Fluke, calling her a "slut"? He certainly felt none of the pain he was causing her and her friends and family, and when the outrage broke over him like a tsunami he acted like a baffled buffoon who couldn't understand what everyone was upset about (Rush, you called someone's defenseless daughter a slut out of the blue!). Ms. Fluke ironically turned out to be the wrong woman to kick around, but there are thousands of others on whom Limbaugh's railings have inflicted pain over the years and he goes right on for the sake of his own ego and income, and many of those thousand have to go right on feeling the pain in private because they don't have a public microphone stuck in their fat face (this prick actually once attacked one of my sons, a 17-year-old and in high school at the time). Again, Rush Limbaugh: "Stamped Psychopath."

And just today, the House of Representatives voted 217-210 to cut off food stamps to 3.8 million Americans next year and more over the next 10 years. All those who voted for the cut-off were Republican. No food assistance to 3.8 million people. Obviously, according to one party in Congress those people will feel no pain, and if they do...well, who cares? That's 217 plucks right there. So again, 217 members of Congress this very day: "Stamped Psychopath."

Easy to talk about Berlusconi and Wiener, and some politician in far-off Australia, but there's plenty of strutting psychopathic plucks clucking right here in our own barn yard. How about Jamie Dimon? Had to bring this back to something not totally off-topic... Aw, never mind. We could go on listing locals all weekend.

Thanks for the post. Been fun.

What you think you know about Columbine is wrong. Eric Harris wasn't bullied, he WAS a bully.

It could definitely happen anywhere.... I think there's one primary reason it happened here, and his name is Eric Harris.
If Eric had grown to adulthood, it could have been much worse. He was a budding young psychopath, who enjoyed inflicting pain. There are psychopaths in every city and small town. Most are nonviolent, and few are as diabolical as Eric Harris. When they are, watch out.

We've heard about the "Trench Coat Mafia" and the violent video games. And we've heard that Harris and Klebold were social outcasts who, angered by incessant bullying, decided to get even by staging the biggest massacre ever at an American high school.

Most of what you've heard is wrong. They weren't bullied, they didn't target jocks. And they weren't addicted to violent video games.


The plan had three acts. In the first act, seven big bombs would kill hundreds inside the school. In the second act, as the building crumbled and students ran for safety, Eric and Dylan would use their semiautomatics to kill the survivors. Finally, in the third act, they'd drive their cars --- filled with propane tanks and jugs of gasoline --- toward the camera crews and first responders. And then they'd blow themselves up.

Estimated body count: "2,000 students, plus 150 faculty and staff, plus who knows how many police, paramedics and journalists."

Who dreams up a plan like that? Who spends more than a year planning it? And who, when the plan doesn't work, settles for killing as many as possible before blowing their brains out?


http://www.amazon.co...rds=dave cullen

What is Megalomania?

The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. H. L. Mencken

Megalomania-

greed for power: an excessive enjoyment in having power over other people and a craving for more of it

Hard Core Left-Wing

David Horowitz is a former hard core left-winger. He speaks from experience.

1. Alienation from country: If you ask progressives about their patriotic feeling, they will tell you that they don’t think of themselves first as Americans but as “citizens of the world.” They are, in fact, so profoundly alienated from their country as to be in some sense foreigners to it.

2. The second feature of the progressive left that is key to understanding it is its instinctive, practiced, and indispensable dishonesty. The Communists in the circles I frequented in my youth never identified themselves as Communists but always as “progressives” and “Jeffersonian democrats” (which is the last thing they were).

3. A third feature of progressives that defines their politics is that they regard the past, which is real, with contempt, and are focused exclusively on a future, which is imaginary.

Progressives are on a mission to create the kingdom of heaven on earth by redistributing income and using the state to enforce politically correct attitudes and practices in everyone’s life. They want to control what you do, and who you are, and even what you eat. For your own good, of course.

4. The fact that they see themselves as saving the world – or “saving the planet” as they would prefer — results in a fourth key characteristic of their politics, which is that they regard politics as a religious war.


http://frontpagemag....reat-we-face-2/