Competence

Competence is an illusion. Undoubtedly, there will be some who believe they are competent at something and rightly feel confident about what they can and will do. Unfortunately, much of the "competence" experienced by many people would be somewhere between imaginary and utterly fictional.

For example, a game about people would immediately put a large proportion of the audience at ease: Being humans, they already assume that they have a very sound working knowledge of the needs, wants, behaviours and just about every other aspect of human existence. Of course, everything from then on would merely serve to maintain that illusion. Even if they take 5 minutes to learn how to play the game, they would feel very much better for it and pat themselves on the back for learning so quickly on a platform they are experts at. Conversely, the 5 minutes spent learning a new game they never felt competent at would probably be the longest 5 minutes of their lives! Who on earth could possibly understand the inner workings of arcane divine voodoo using bolts as mana?

Over exaggeration, perhaps, but a rather common trend amongst humans. It must be remembered that the average human is rather an emotional creature that lives on perceptions rather than concrete measures. A minute can seem far longer if it involves something they are not familiar with. As for competence? Assuming competence and subsequently failing at that very same act can do wonders for one's self-esteem...