The Most Dangerous Cognitive Bias

Overconfidence tricks your brain into believing you know more than you do—think Dunning-Kruger in action—so you skate past blind spots and make bigger mistakes than you ever expected. This Veritasium deep-dive unpacks how mental shortcuts pump up your certainty, why a little confidence boost can be healthy, and how ignoring reality landed Nick Leeson and even historic banks in hot water.

But all isn’t doom and gloom! The video highlights the power of prompt feedback, real-world data and even a custom tabletop game (now on Kickstarter) to help knock that overconfidence down a peg. By recognizing our own limits, seeking honest input and playing useful “mind hacks,” we can stay curious, humble and actually get better at what we think we already know.

Watch on YouTube