Dunning–Kruger effect

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias whereby people with low ability, expertise, or experience regarding a type of task or area of knowledge tend to overestimate their ability or knowledge. Some researchers also include the opposite effect for high performers: their tendency to underestimate their skills. In popular culture, the Dunning–Kruger effect is often misunderstood as a claim about general overconfidence of people with low intelligence instead of specific overconfidence of people unskilled at a particular task.

In the case of knowledge the Dunning–Kruger effect often manifests as certainty. A good example is the feminist historical narrative in which a high proportion of the population have very limited historical knowledge, believe it is absolutely true and yet cannot produce any evidence to support their positions.