Why I’m better than him, but worse than her
Gaussian Curve is the name of a music trio — an Italian, a Dutchman and a Scot. I’m not starting with a culturally insensitive joke though. The direction I want to take is a mathematical one; the statistical Gaussian Curve from where the band takes its name.
A Gaussian Curve describes the normal distribution of things, like intelligence, height, or weight. You may recognise it as a Bell Curve below. In 1986, McCormick, Walkey and Green looked at how drivers rated themselves on skill level and risk taking in their driving. They tested 178 people and 80% said they were above average. A figure which is clearly impossible, of course.
This tendency to overstate our skills is replicated elsewhere. At Stanford University 87% of MBA students rated their academic performance as above the median. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln also ran a survey where 68% of their faculty scored themselves in the top quarter for teaching ability — 94% ranked themselves as above average.
Social psychology calls this Illusory Superiority, where we exaggerate our skills and abilities when comparing ourselves to others. The problem is that if we all say we’re above average, then…
