Why do people think they know everything?

Answer 1

Because we use overconfidence to create an illusion of competence that distracts us from the fact that humans are frail feeble minded creatures :-)

Answer 2

Because they are idiots, baffoons, morons, and fools. Anyone proporting to know everything most likely knows very little and in fact can be called on their bluff. Ask them some in-depth info about a topic they claim to know about and see how they back peddle out of their apparent lack of knowledge.

Answer 3

Must be some type of psychosis. Or it may be a lack of education and the inability to perceive the wider universe. Only the very foolish or arrogant believe they hold the answers.

But what do I know?

ZebraFoxFire

Answer 4

Why not pretend? It's better than living knowing that you know absolutely nothing and will never know everything. Mysteries eat me up inside so I persuade myself that they're no longer mysteries. What is the meaning of life? Make something up and believe it, or let everything remind you that you will never know.

Answer 5

Maybe they know everything they think is out there to know, but are just not smart enough to realize there is so much more out there.

Answer 6

I do not know everything. My wife quite agrees and clearly states she does not know everything either.
My mother admits she does not know everything, but my father is a harder sell.
Of the lot of us, my father is the most insecure.
Perhaps it is a form of overcompensation?

Answer 7

What makes you think that people DON'T know everything? Do you know everything about what people know? Heh.

Answer 8

Because they don't.

Only thing we know for certain is that we don't know everything.

Answer 9

The more you know, the more you realize you don't know. No one can possibly know everything. If anyone thinks they do then they are merely arrogant & delusional.

Answer 10

I didn't used to and I still don't. But those best answer 10s just keep piling up...