Why Everyone Seems Irrational

Every single person I've ever met is dumbfounded by the enormous irrationality of other people....even as they themselves are obviously irrational much of the time.

It stems from each of us feeling robustly capable from our experience operating in some narrow realm with clarity and competence. We feel comfortable forgiving our failings outside that realm. An otherwise competent person is naturally prone to err a bit, so it's forgivable!

It only feels like "a bit", of course, because the 98% of life outside our remote islands of competence and clarity feels like a junk drawer. Our self-image remains intact, so self-forgiveness is generous.

And we most often see others outside their remote islands of competence and clarity — especially on social media, hurling confident nonsense about politics, epidemiology, international relations, economics, etc.. We disregard their narrowly-earned self-respect as they rave on, aware only of the raving itself. And we do not share their inclination to forgive it.

Random interactions most often catch others outside their expertise. And we have more discretionary time than ever to pay attention, and to judge. We also have far more time to wander outside our own corridors of rationality.

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I hired a really expert retired auto mechanic as a handyman once. He had no experience with home improvement, but he felt that nothing could come up that would be harder or more complex than his previous experience, so he felt qualified to do anything mechanical. He then proceeded to pretty much wreck my house.