Why People Are So Confident When They’re Wrong

In this Veritasium deep dive, Derek Muller unpacks the dangers of overconfidence—from the classic Dunning-Kruger curve to how our brains take mental shortcuts that trick us into believing we know more than we do. Along the way you’ll see how overconfidence can be a double-edged sword (it sometimes fuels bold moves), meet notorious examples like rogue trader Nick Leeson and the collapse of an old English bank, and learn why real-time feedback is your best defense against being blissfully wrong.

Ready for action? They’ve even launched a tabletop game (now on Kickstarter) designed to help you and your friends spot and squash overconfidence in the wild. Plus: a shout-out to Snatoms (a fun magnetic molecular-modeling kit) and the Veritasium newsletter if you want weekly brain-teasers and science stories.

Watch on YouTube