Comedy legend John Cleese of Monty Python fame was being interviewed recently. Like a stream of consciousness, the conversation roamed across numerous topics.
At one point Cleese said he was seeing a therapist years ago and was thoroughly impressed with the guy's professionalism and knowledge. So Cleese asked him, "What percent of people in your profession would you say really know what they are doing?"
Without hesitation, the therapist answered, "10%."
Yikes! Think of how influential a therapist can be. And then consider the possibility that 90% have no clue what they are doing.
After that surprising answer, Cleese made it a habit to ask people in various professions the same question over the next several years. He said the answers never rose above 20%.
Maybe I am an optimist, but even 20% seems pretty low to me. I think there's a good chance that when people answered his question, their pride and biases got in the way.
Still ... it's an interesting thing to ponder: exactly how much competence/incompetence is there around us day by day?
Is it better than 50/50?
How would you answer Cleese's question for your profession?
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