Ultracrepidians: people who give their opinion without knowledge

Ultracrepidians, far from being in danger of extinction, appear more every day. They are those people who give their opinion about everything without knowing anything. They are the ones who never shut up, the ones who correct us, the ones who have suggestions for almost any topic, the ones who want to fix the world almost every day and those who undervalue the true experts in an area.

It is curious how rich our language is and the terms we have to define those behaviors that we see so often. Ultracrepidarianism undoubtedly seems like one of those words that is as complicated to remember as it is to pronounce.. However, it is surprising to know that it has been with us since ancient times and that it is used almost anywhere in the world.

In english is ultracrepidarianism, in French ultracrepidanismin Bosnian ultrakrepidarianizam… Between all of us we have given name to that profile with an almost obsessive tendency to give opinions and give advice on areas that are generally not always known or controlled. However, It is clear, however, that we all have the full right to give an opinion on any aspect.

However, doing it with humility and from that perspective from which we understand that we do not master all the subjects of life, can say a lot about us. So, It is interesting to know that the behavior of ultracrepidians is a subject of great interest to the field of psychology. Let’s see more data below.

Ultracrepidians, what are they like and why are they that way?

If you give your opinion on the images of the far side of the Moon provided by the Chinese Chang’e-4 probe, the ultracrepdians will try to give you a comment typical of Carl Sagan. In addition, If you have an opinion on politics, they will go up to their lectern and aspire to give you a speech like Winston Churchill.. If you talk about football, economics or quantum physics, they will always aspire to show you how much they know.

Ultracrepidians have answers for everything. They don’t shut up. They are also not aware of their limitations and what is worse, they do not respect them. Likewise, they are those who seek to stand out at all costs and, to do so, do not hesitate to disqualify others. If we now ask ourselves what the origin of this word is, we must go back to Apelles of Colophon, an exquisite painter from the year 352 BC. C. The story goes that on one occasion while Alexander the Great’s favorite artist was engrossed in one of his works, a shoemaker entered his workshop to leave him an order. When he saw the paintings and murals, he began to criticize many of the details. Given that comment, Apelles of Colophon told him the following:Ne supra crepidam sutor iudicaret” (let the shoemaker not give his opinion above the shoes). Hence also the classic expression “shoemaker to your shoes”.

Ultracrepidians and the Dunning-Kruger effect

Ultracrepidians are basically characterized by a very basic principle: the less they know, the more they think they know about something. This relationship responds to what is known in psychology as the Dunning-Kruger effect.

The Dunning-Kruger effect is a very common cognitive bias by which people with fewer cognitive and intellectual skills tend (on average, but not in all cases) to overestimate their own abilities. From social psychology and through studies such as those carried out by psychologists Marian Krak and Andreas Ortman, from the University of Berlin, tells us the following. First of all, Ultracrepidians can even hold positions of power. There are people in our society who occupy positions for which they do not have sufficient skills. However, this inflated self-evaluation, added to an extraverted and determined attitude, It can allow them to reach positions that more suitable others do not achieve.

Ultracrepidians should not be underestimated: their effect can be very harmful

Sometimes the behavior of ultracrepidians can remain anecdotal.. For example, the story of McArthur Wheeler, a man who robbed a bank in Pittsburgh in 1990, is very famous. When the authorities arrested him, he was very surprised: he did not understand how they could see him.

He claimed to have applied lemon juice to his face and body to be invisible. It is clear that the young Wheeler suffered from a psychological disorder, but the categoricalness with which he defended the relationship between lemon juice and invisibility caught the attention of experts.

Now, beyond these specific cases, there is something that we must be clear about. Ultracrepidians are capable of doing a lot of damage. Having a father, a sister, a boss or a neighbor obsessed with boycotting our skills, disqualifying and apostilling each of our comments, can generate great psychological exhaustion.

The ideal is not to fall for their provocations, we know. However, If we are forced to have them around daily, we should take other more drastic measures to stop their effect. Making it clear to them that their behaviors are harmful and offensive is one strategy, the other would be more forceful and would undoubtedly require maintaining an adequate distance from this type of profiles. Let’s think about it.

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