You don’t know what you don’t know

Have you ever eavesdropped on a conversation where someone was speaking confidently about a topic that you were intimately familiar with but it was clear that they had no idea what they were talking about? Back in 1999 two social psychologists, David Dunning and Justin Kruger studied this cognitive bias and coined the term, “Dunning – Kruger Effect.” It found that some people, while knowing very little about a topic, were incredibly confident on their seeming knowledge. Once that person began to educate themselves on the topic, their confidence dropped dramatically when they realized how much they didn’t actually know. Then, as their knowledge grew, so did their confidence on the subject.

               The following are the 4 phases to the Dunning – Kruger Effect:

1.      Unconscious Incompetence. The person literally doesn’t know how ignorant they are on a skill. They think they know much more than they actually do, but have no idea how little they know. 

2.      Conscious Incompetence. The person realizes how much they don’t know after some education or training on the skill. They look back on what they previously thought and discover how little they actually know.

3.      Conscious Competence. The person continues training or education on the skill and can with conscious effort or thought, be competent in the actions.

4.      Unconscious Competence. This is the highest level. The person can perform the skills or actions without conscious thought.

What does this have to do with firearms training? In a word, everything. Most of my students are “gun guys.” Most of them grew up shooting and feel like they have a good idea on how to handle a firearm in a defensive situation. Once they take the first class, however, they realize how little they actually know. Then the real training process begins.

When trying to explain what defensive shooting is like compared to putting holes in paper, I equate it to basketball. Shooting holes in paper from a stationary standing position is like shooting free-throws. Sure I can get great a shooting free-throws, but what if I’m asked to play a full court, 5 on 5 game? Can I pass, play defense, rebound, shoot a jump-shot, layup, box out? In a defensive situation can you draw properly, reload, clear malfunctions, move while shooting, use cover, communicate, holster properly, have good situational awareness? If I fail at basketball the worst that happens is I lose a game. If I fail in a gunfight the consequences are so much greater. If you read the list above and don’t know how to do all of those skills, come out and take a class. Let’s get past step 1.