94% of Professors Think Their Work is Above Average

Researchers have determined that overconfidence leads to higher social status.  This is already generally understood at some level, as people who wish to attain higher social status have been shown to be more overconfident.  This is not perceived as narcissism, but as evidence of how beloved is the person.

When this insight gets paired with the Dunning-Kruger effect, which indicates that incompetent people are too incompetent to perceive their own incompetence, and are therefore perhaps overconfident, we find cause for concern in the organisation of human affairs.