Dunning Kruger in Action

                               

David Miano released a video in the 'World of Antiquity' series responding to a "debunking" video by Dan Richards addressing some comments he'd earlier made on archaeological dating. The trouble is, as the video " Artifact Jacker Tries to School Me in Archaeology (Scientists Weep)" [ 47,888 views Apr 29, 2025] demonstrates, Mr Richards has not the foggiest idea about what the terms he uses with gay abandon actually mean ("his pompous swagger is unwarrented").

Another day, another confident critic who thinks he has science all figured out. In this video, I react to one of the most spectacular misunderstandings of archaeological dating methods you'll ever see. Bring popcorn.

I was interested in the response of a third party posted on X (Twitter) that made some interesting points worth publicising:

Giovanni's BTC_POWER_LAW ( @Giovann35084111)
That individual [Richards- PMB] strikes me as a psychopath, exhibiting traits I encountered frequently during my years as a physics professor.

There’s a peculiar pattern where people from unrelated fields—car mechanics, electricians, car salespeople—reach a point in their lives where they become fixated on disproving established scientific theories, like Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. They’re convinced they’ve cracked the code and are destined to reveal to the world why a century of physics is fundamentally flawed.

This wasn’t just my experience; many of my colleagues shared similar stories. We’d receive dozens of manuscripts annually—some handwritten, others typed on ancient typewriters—or emails boldly proclaiming a “Theory of Everything.” These submissions rarely came from trained scientists or even competent amateurs.

Most of these self-proclaimed theorists lacked a grasp of basic mathematics and showed little understanding of fundamental physics principles. Yet, they felt an unshakable urge to overhaul the entire discipline. Their persistence was relentless, sometimes bordering on obsessive.

Some would show up unannounced at university offices, clutching their manuscripts like sacred texts. Others went further, attending academic conferences, cornering professors, and, in a few cases, practically stalking them.

I recall colleagues being hounded by these individuals, who seemed undeterred by rejection or polite dismissal. It’s hard to see this behavior as anything other than a manifestation of some undiagnosed mental condition—perhaps a mix of delusion and an inflated sense of intellectual destiny.

This phenomenon likely extends beyond physics. I suspect archaeology faces similar challenges, possibly even more intensely, given the field’s overlap with popular imagination and fringe theories about ancient civilizations.