[rhtgrg]

You don't have to put yourself down to have an open mind or a beginner's mind. Realistically you are aware that you are not below average in all contexts, no? So what does it mean to tell yourself otherwise? False humility? Self deprecation? Doesn't seem very healthy.

[gretch]

The thing is, many endeavors are not single dimensional nor are they designed to be competitive, so pairwise ranking doesn’t make any sense.

If you say, I’m better at bob than badminton. That makes sense since it’s designed as a competition and you can resolve the argument by playing Bob.

If you say “I’m better at Bob at software engineering” what does that even mean? Does Bob even know he is competing against you?

[lusus_naturae]

I was going to say, if one is not below average, this seems like something someone would say if made aware of their narcissism all of sudden. There's some aspect of vulnerability here, which is why it's more vulnerable narcissism. Not assuming anything about the author, only speaking in generalities.