Navigating the skies of self-discovery: Reflections on the Dunning-Kruger effect and my flying adventures

As covered in a prior newsletter, the Dunning-Kruger Effect states the less we know about a particular topic, the more we think we know. It’s what won David Dunning and Justin Kruger the Nobel Prize. The effect was discussed in the above-referenced newsletter on motorcycle riding, so I’ll not elaborate… Continue reading

A Debate Champion’s Guide: How to find the truth.

Competing in debate, our Fairmont High School team accumulated an impressive series of wins, ultimately landing us in completion for the state championship in Minnesota. Debate wins come by accumulating points.  Not only the “quality and reasonableness” of an argument, but the sources used to back it up.  We learned… Continue reading

A Quitter’s Guide: Dunning-Kruger Effect

The Dunning-Kruger effect popped into my consciousness recently. A friend had responded in a decidedly authoritarian tone explaining why my assessment of a particular vehicle’s performance was wrong, backing up their assertion with a personal anecdote. This is classic Dunning-Kruger — the less we know about a particular topic, the… Continue reading

RIP Stu Oltman

Before collaborating with Oltman on many articles for Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN) magazine, I knew him as the slightly curmudgeonly Honda Goldwing expert who dispensed advice to riders in the GWRRA (Goldwing Road Riders Association) at their monthly meetings at Chompie’s Deli on Shea Blvd. in Scottsdale, AZ.  Stu’s level… Continue reading

It’ll never fly, Orville

The final twenty years of my career was directly involved in disrupting large companies stuck with stale “we are too big to fail” thinking.  Running into a person near my age, as I did at lunch last week, espousing today’s version of “It’ll never fly, Orville Syndrome,” irritated me. Don’t… Continue reading

Get Hooked on the Hunt with John Sandford’s ‘Righteous Prey’

I’ve just completed the latest (32nd) book in John Sandford’s “Prey” series which features cop, detective, Marshall, and sleuth Lucas Davenport.  This series began in 1989 with Rules of Prey, and the word “Prey” is in all the titles.  I’ve become a solid Sandford fan over the years and have… Continue reading