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Sunday, August 22, 2021

Enigma of Indecision

I have been studying the Dunning-Kruger Effect, which proposes those (we, me) of little knowledge claim to know a lot. Socrates provided this preface: "Only true wisdom is knowing how little you know." Then, after a moment of 2000+  years, Darwin chimed in with: "Ignorance frequently begets more confidence than knowledge does." Here is a helpfully instructive (or not) Normaphoto:

It is a hummingbird flying into a fountain plume.  He is only an inch or two long and weighs nothing. Unlike our local peccadilloes which, like their southern relatives, armadillos, are armored, hummingbirds have no protection against liquid missiles that weigh more than they do. Yet they fly out hydrated and unharmed. I have no idea how they manage that. I see it happen. Norma photos it. Still, I don't know how it's done. Behind this lens, focused on an endless moment of the universe, I feel less than knowledgeable and more like a clumsy contortionist who has stepped on his own head --hate when that happens.

30 comments:

  1. Hello Geo
    The Dunning-Kruger effect has always been with us, the two researchers gave it definition less than 25 years ago. I think the very media (this one that we all use) has let us see just how prevalent it is among us. In our younger days it was sometimes confined to a neighborhood, or in politics even national. The crazy neighbor was only able to demonstrate it to the unfortunate who dropped by their house. Now, anyone with a keyboard and internet access can demonstrate the stage (1,2,3,4) the syndrome has gone. I know that in many things I was as guilty as anyone; my kids have gone a long way of making me aware of preconceptions (opinions). I see no sign of it making an exit anytime soon.
    Take care, best to Norma.
    Mike

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    1. Dear Mike, thanks for pensive comment. I'm reminded of Paulo Coelho de Souza --loosely translated from his (his and my)Portuguese:"Wisdom means to know and yet transform." I dare to add, as he & I are nearly age-mates,that we mustn't abandon compassion, empiricism or logic --yet that has happened in misunderstandings, stubbornness and fantasies of cyber-space. As parents, you and I have learned the value of arguments and how to guide them to resolution and workable compromise. We must keep in mind, internet is in its infancy. Be gentle and firm.
      You take care too, and Norma says thanks.

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  2. Norma has a real knack for capturing unusual pictures. This one is stupendous.

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    1. Dear Emma, I agree. Will convey your compliment to Norma.

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  3. It is a mystery and marvel. It is good that nature proposes so many questions to us, regardless of where in the Dunning-Kruger Effect scale we find ourselves. That is a wonderful photo.

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    1. Dear Tom, it's indeed a mystery and marvel. I believe you've just defined "Enigma".
      Norma thanks you for photo-compliment, as do I. She tells me we have to be alert with our ears and eyes. I'd reply that would require two lerts, but she'd electrocute me with her eyes.

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  4. Great photo! BTW, I am reading a book I think you would like: Chet Raymon, "The Soul of the Night: An Astronomical Pilgrimage"

    https://fromarockyhillside.com

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    1. Dear Jeff, Thanks on Normaphoto! Also thanks for book recommendation, sounds like good reading on the "Trainride of the Enigmas".

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  5. Wonderful photograph. I wonder, would Norma consider running off with me? No, probably not. And She Who Must Be Obeyed would (presumably) forbid it. But that is the psyche of one who knows little but thinks he knows a lot. It's hope, constant hope.

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    1. Thanks dear Bruce, for the Normacompliment, but I can't promise she'd run off with you. I married her 51 years ago because she had $70 and a bicycle, but I had job at the hop farm making $1.45 per hour. By current inflation standards you'd have to be a multibillionaire to impress her. Much as I value the uplifting power of Hope, I must confess, any negotiation between my photographer and She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed would leave us both, uh, Haggard.

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  6. That photo is fantastic! Perhaps the hummer can fly between the water drops. I wonder how it feels to be so small that a drop of water is so large in comparison? There must be many hazards in such an existence.

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    1. Thanks,dear Jenny! I admire hummingbirds. They do face many hazards which they manage with skills and agility, like us.

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  7. Dear Geo, your wonderful photographer has done it again. Terrific picture and excellent timing. We are blessed to get one or two hummingbirds a summer and when they come to hover over my deck plants, it is very special for us. They are hi and bye and leave very quickly and I have never been able to take a picture. Ours are smaller than the ones I have seen in CA and we have to look closely to see if it is not a large bee.

    Socrates was usually right.

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    1. Thank you, dear Arleen. Happily, we get to see the little guys often, but Norma can get quite close to them --I suspect because she moves in a way that shows there is no harm in her. That's why I've stuck around 52 years. Another reason is, as you say, "Socrates was usually right" --but Norma is never wrong.

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  8. Dear Geo., what a wonderful gifted photo! Please give my compliments to Norma!
    At the moment it rains in Bavaria - I would like very much to hop between the raindrops without getting wet...

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    1. Dear Britta, your compliments have been conveyed and appreciated. Norma Thanks you. As to raindrop hopping, if my heart beat fast as a hummingbird's, 1200 b.p.m, I too could flit blossom to blossom between raindrops --until netted and taken to get my pacemaker fixed.

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  9. The more you know the more you should realize how little you know.

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    1. I know (or do I?). Sounds like an enigma. Welcome to "Trainride", Mike, and thanks for commenting.

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  10. That is an amazing photo, Geo! Norma captures such wonderful photos. I am in awe of hummingbirds. They can fly across the Gulf of Mexico and over a thousand miles without stopping. The male hummingbirds are feisty and territorial. One of the surprises of visiting the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado was the number of hummingbirds in the area. I watched their antics for hours.

    I wasn't aware of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, although I certainly knew about Socrates' and Darwin's comments on knowledge. I know a little about a whole lot, and I have to be really careful not to embarrass myself. Have a great week and stay safe. California has been through so much!

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    1. Dear Louise, Thanks for Normaphoto compliment! Conveyed & appreciated. Hummingbirds have always fascinated me too but I never have a camera with me. Norma just goes outdoors with her's and they come to her.

      Sounds like we're sharing a space on the Dunning-Kruger spectrum. Embarrassment is not a popular exchange medium, but how else can a spectrum collect rent?

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  11. I thought the Dunning-Kruger effect was a bad coffee maker.

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    1. Dear Lady, Even with a subtle distraction of trying to confuse buyers by resequencing i's,u's and e's in their brand name, they were caught out by the New York Times --https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-keurig-machine/

      We know enough to not be bamboozled!

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  12. I get almost a daily dose of the Dunning-Kruger Effect from my coworkers. Those guys have figured out Covid, global warming, and several just about any other problem you can think of.

    To them our problems are just some sinister force out to "force" something down their throats. There is one guy who when he uses the phrase, "In all reality" I know the delusions are about to get deep.

    Just once I would love to have that confidence.

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    1. Dear Beach Bum, Despite depending on them for safety and professionalism when needed, I have strong reservations about coworkers. Even after 12 year's retirement I don't know what orking is, or if it annoys the cows. In all reality, I wish I knew. I believe you've nailed delusion.

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  13. We've had a wonderful summer with the hummingbirds. The flowers on our deck have drawn frequent visitors.

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    1. Glad to hear it, Squid! Hummingbirds are such beautiful and brave little guys. Their blossom-visits are a natural reward to gardeners. Well done.

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  14. Sometimes the best explanation is that "It just is". Sometimes we just have to wrap our heads around not knowing it all. My grandmother, mother to 9, never stopped learning, got her Bachelors in Sociology at 70. I imagine she's in the library of heaven right now.

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    1. Dear Juli, you describe a remarkable woman. I too cannot imagine heaven without a library.

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  15. I'm thinking of you and Norma and hope that you both are happy and healthy. Take care! And I dearly hope there are libraries in heaven, everything that was ever written and time to read them all!

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    1. Dear Louise, there is a poem that has long caused me to wonder about its origin. Was it written by John Lillison or Steve Martin?

      "O pointy birds.
      O pointy pointy
      Anoint my head,
      Anointy nointy."

      Without a library to solve enigmas like that, there can be no Heaven.

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