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Is Everyone Else Smarter Than Me?
Embracing Doubt in a Culture of Instant Answers
Do you know that feeling of insecurity when you’re surrounded by people who seem to have an answer ready for every question? It’s an experience many of us share — that quiet discomfort that sets in when others effortlessly discuss complex topics while we’re still busy processing the question. It becomes particularly irritating when it’s a field in which we should actually possess expertise.
In such moments, it’s helpful to realize that we might be dealing with personalities driven more by self-presentation than by well-founded knowledge. The motto applies: Much opinion, little substance, big impact.
This discomfort is more than just a fleeting emotion; it’s deeply rooted in our epistemology, ethics, and psychology. As someone who has intensively engaged with philosophy, law, and psychology, I want to explore in this article why people with seemingly boundless knowledge often appear suspicious to us and how we ourselves can avoid falling into the trap of hasty opinion-giving. At the end of this text, I will even present a constructive solution approach.
Important: The ability to make quick decisions can be important and even life-saving in emergency situations or under time pressure. Experts in their field can often make quick and…
