Source: http://krishiyengar.in/and-the-winner-is-the-confidence-vs-knowledge-debate/
The Confidence vs Knowledge has been there since eternity – And here I am reproducing the writings of an 11-year-old on the subject.
My take – The last line sums up a lot of scenarios where a confident speaker may pass off as being knowledgeable – but that again is a representation of the audience’s ignorance – not the speaker’s knowledge.
Confidence stems from knowledge.
If you know about something about a subject well, you would be confident – say for a test. There are some cases of #underconfidence, meaning you understand the material but feel that you don’t, but that differs from person to person.
The corollary that knowledge comes from confidence is not necessarily true. Confidence may be overconfidence at times. That is, you feel that you know the subject when you don’t.
On the other hand, knowledge is more critical since a lack of confidence doesn’t matter if you have subject expertise. Sure, you might forget what you’re supposed to remember. Yet, I don’t think that would happen much if you have a thorough grasp of the subject.
Let’s take the example of a pop quiz. You could be confident you know the material, but in reality, you don’t. So you end up getting, say, an 8/15. Alternatively, if you know the subject extremely well and are still unsure, you will still score, say a 14 /15.
What’s more, as you start answering the questions right, your confidence builds up. Needless to say, knowledge builds confidence and not the other way round.
Yes, without knowledge and with confidence, you might wing your answers and sound knowledgeable, but it can only take you that far – and only where your audience is ignorant as well.
Krish’s Verdict: Knowledge trumps Confidence