The Dunning-Kruger Effect: Mathematics and Human Self-Esteem

This article analyzes the Dunning-Kruger effect—a cognitive bias in which individuals with low compe-tence overestimate their abilities, while experts tend to underestimate them—in the field of mathemati-cal cognition. Mathematics is viewed as a unique testing ground for this phenomenon due to the objectivity of its truth criteria. Psychological and statistical explanations for the effect are discussed, as well as its paradoxical influence on the perception of mathematics as "too difficult" or "unfair." It is concluded that mathematical objectivity does not create, but rather destroys, illusions of self-esteem, serving as an effective tool for metacognitive correction