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File 03The Calibration Game

The Calibration Game

Are you as sure as you think?

Give a 90%-sure range for a handful of facts, then see how often the truth actually landed inside. Almost nobody hits 90% — most of us are quietly, confidently overconfident.

Interactivethe calibration gamegive a 90%-sure range

This isn't a trivia quiz. For each fact, give a low–high range wide enough that you're 90% sure the real answer sits inside it. Not sure when the iPhone launched? “2000 to 2015” is a fine answer — the skill is knowing how wide to go.

Then see how many of your eight ranges caught the truth. If you're really 90% sure each time, you'd catch about seven of eight. Most people catch far fewer — their ranges are too narrow. That gap is overconfidence, and noticing it is the point.

  • The first iPhone went on sale in…
  • Mount Everest is how many meters tall?
    m
  • An adult human body has how many bones?
  • The Berlin Wall fell in…
  • How many countries are in the European Union?
  • A marathon is how many kilometers?
    km
  • Light travels how many kilometers per second?
    km/s
  • Wikipedia launched in…
fill all eight ranges — 0/8 done