Yesterday, Olivia Judson published a piece in the New York Times about how human beings are almost incapable of being objective, particularly when it comes to the subject of themselves. This creates severe difficulties for studying humans as individuals, cultures, and civilizations. She points out:

The literature from psychology shows that, as individuals, we are good at seeing other people clearly, but poor at seeing ourselves. Most people, for example, describe themselves as being better drivers than average, and consider themselves better looking than other people consider them.

It seems the observer’s paradox applies also to self-observation. Who knew?