Watching A Tutorial Does Not Make You An Expert

Now this is why you need to go to the CWHBA Central Washington Home and Garden show at the Yakima Valley SunDome this weekend. The University of Chicago just conducted a study that concluded that watching Youtube tutorials make us overconfident in our abilities. The pros at the show can help you make sure you do it right and avoid the disasters overconfidence can cause!

Researchers say it's easy to hop on YouTube or another site to see how someone else handles a project, but it turns out watching these video tutorials gives us a false sense of our own level of capability.

The study was based on an old vaudeville magician's trick known as "tablecloth trick," which involves pulling a tablecloth off a table without disturbing the items on top of it. Researchers had a thousand participants either watch a video, read step-by-step instructions, or merely think about performing the feat.

What did they learn?  The results showed participants who watched the five-second video a number of times were much more confident in their ability to pull off the trick compared to those who watched the video just once.  By comparison, those who read or thought about the trick for an extended period did not reach the same level of pre-attempt confidence.

Study leaders say if you go online to look up tips before attempting a skill it would be good for you to realize that you just might be overestimating your  abilities and you should be cautious before attempting similar feats or projects yourself.  The Daily Mail concludes forewarned is forearmed!  (Daily Mail)