On: Dumb people don't know they are dumb. Is there a simple explanation for this?

[ryanmahoski]

Compared to other profs. From his homepage:

"First I am interested in why people tend to have overly favorable and objectively indefensible views of their own abilities, talents, and moral character. For example, a full 94% of college professors state that they do "above average" work, although it is statistically impossible for virtually everybody to be above average."

http://www.psych.cornell.edu/people/Faculty/dad6

[anamax → ryanmahoski]

-1000, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100

average of entries 0, 10 of 11 entries above average

I'll bet that the typical college prof believes that a small fraction of her "peers" rate -1000 or worse.

[gwc → anamax]

"above average" in this context usually means median, not mean - i.e. "in the top 50%"