*"I'm good at reading people."

"I'm a great judge of character."

When you hear this, or think this about yourself, be careful.

Here's a made-up example: Your cousin Amy is wearing all black. Your sister Jane says that she'd look good in a light-colored shirt, maybe pink, because of her fair skin.

You think that's rude. You also have a theory about this—after all, you've watched your sister for years! You are annoyed enough to express it later. You say to Jane, "You do things like this when we visit Amy because of your competitiveness, which you don't even notice. You think Amy is prettier than you so you pick on her."

And then Jane snaps back, "You're the one who worries all the time about your looks! And you're always worried about what Amy thinks."

You think, I don't worry about my looks as much as she does. Well maybe a little, but I already knew that. Jane just can't see how competitive she is! How can she be so stupid?

Yes, it's possible you are more insightful than your sister. But first, you need to know about an everyday human mistake called the "illusion of asymmetrical insight." In other words, human beings tend to overestimate their own insight and underestimate other people's.

The........

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