title: When peers are not peers and don't know it: The Dunning-Kruger effect and self-fulfilling prophecy in peer-review.
abstract: The fateful combination of (i) the Dunning-Kruger effect (ignorance of one's own ignorance) with (ii) the nonlinear dynamics of the echo-chamber between reviewers and editors fuels a self-reinforcing collective delusion system that sometimes spirals uncontrollably away from objectivity and truth. Escape from this subconscious meta-ignorance is a formidable challenge but if achieved will help correct a central deficit of the peer-review process that stifles innovation and paradigm shifts.
authors: Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, USA; Institute for Biocomplexity and Informatics, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. shuang@systemsbiology.org
authors: Sui
authors: S
authors: Huang
mesh_terms: D030141:Feedback, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D010379:Peer Group; D010380:Peer Review; D014473:Unconscious, Psychology