What do you call a person who always or gradually makes mistakes, but is unaware that they're making those mistakes? For example,
Nicolo and I are partners in a group project. The instructor asks a question about the project and Nicolo, nonchalantly, answers, not knowing he's leading our project's performance into failure. He's very confident he's doing the right thing, but he really isn't.
Is there any word that can describe this situation?
The person is suffering from 'Kruger-Dunning effect' which is a psychological phenomenon that someone who is incompetent overestimate their own capabilities.
"Clueless," as indicated above, would probably be my choice:
- completely or hopelessly...unaware, ignorant, or foolish
[merriam-webster.com]
If Nicolo's destruction of your project is accompanied by a complete lack of concern or a carefree attitude, or if confusion, not ignorance, is the root cause of his failure, I might say that he's a ditz, although that's more often applied to women than men.
Ditzy: flighty and easily confused
[merriam-webster.com]
(There's nothing about it in the definitions, but I've always thought part of ditziness was a complete unawareness of one's own obliviousness.)
Naif (or naïf) might be a more gender-neutral term, but it's not the most current or recognized word in English.
a naive or inexperienced person
[thefreedictionary.com]
I would use one of the following words to describe this person:
Naive
(of a person or action) showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment.
Ignorant
lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated.
Obtuse
not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull.
*all definitions come from the Google search engine. ("Define xxxx")
