I have seen D-K written about in the context of beginner-experts; people that don't have more knowledgeable peers to help them see the limitations of what they know (think one-man IT team in a small company, or angry drunk Uncle rambling on about politics in the recliner).

My observation is that D-K comes up in areas that people think are easy to understand (but are actually complex). Especially if the person comes from a domain with high perceived complexity. Example would be computer scientist discussing education or psychology... That seems to be ripe territory for D-K.

> people that don't have more knowledgeable peers to help them see the limitations of what they know

I've definitely met people like that; people who are used to being the smartest people in the room, and so when they make pronouncements without thinking long about a problem, everyone around them is used to assuming what they say is right, because they're smart.

And once they're around other smart people, it's like talking to a brick wall—they're so used to everyone else accepting their bullshit, that they don't know how to handle being called on it, and they don't know how to defend their ideas because they've never had to before.

Oy. Frustrating people.

Social proof. A majority of people who believe X in their social circle. Unfortunately thats kind of a chicken and egg problem :P

Or, get the majority to believe/trust one person on other grounds. Then he/she can convince them together and social proof stays intact if most of them accept most of the message.

Sometimes the authority is an institution instead of a person like science, religion, nationalism.