The Lab Game · 2 minutes

How honest is your confidence?

Ten questions. For each, give a range you're 90% sure contains the answer. Calibrated people catch nine. Almost nobody is calibrated.

Calibrated

Question 1/10 · Caught 0

Give a range you're 90% sure contains the answer. If your confidence is honest, nine of ten ranges will catch it. Almost nobody's do.

The question

 

Under the hood

A hit means the truth landed inside your range. Calibration means your hit rate matches your stated confidence: ranges offered at 90% should catch the answer 90% of the time. In the classic studies (Alpert & Raiffa onward), most people's 90% intervals catch roughly half.

Why this matters

Calibration is the simplest test of judgment there is: when you say 90%, are you right 90% of the time? In the classic studies (Alpert & Raiffa's MBA experiments onward), people's "90%" intervals contain the truth roughly half the time. Experts included. Confidence and accuracy are different skills.

This shows up everywhere forecasts are made: revenue plans with one number instead of a range, project dates with no error bars, risk reads that feel precise because they're specific. The fix is uncomfortable-looking ranges — honest confidence is usually wider than feels professional.

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