Willful Blindness by Margaret Heffernan
Jun. 22nd, 2013 12:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
In this controversial and eye-opening book, distinguished businesswoman and writer, Margaret Heffernan, examines the phenomenon of wilful blindness in all its forms: in history, in science, in business, in government and in the family.
Heffernan takes as her starting point the 2006 case of the US Government vs Enron where those in charge failed to observe the corruption which was unfolding before their very eyes, but where not knowing was no defence. The guilty verdict sent shivers down the spine of the corporate world and beyond. More recently, bankers and governments were wilfully blind to the looming financial crisis. However, in our own lives too, we can also be guilty of overlooking what is right in front of us, whether in the office or at home – with potentially disastrous consequences.
Drawing on a wide array of sources from psychological studies to interviews with the people involved she examines what it is about human nature which makes us so prone to wilful blindness. And she examines why whistleblowers and Cassandras are so ordinary and yet so very rare.
Thought provoking and supremely relevant, this is a book which none of us can afford to ignore.
Wilful blindness is a legal term for the state where a person wilfully closes their eyes to events that should otherwise be obvious to them. This book examines the different psychological processes that can operate to make people wilfully blind to a situation, including:
– exhaustion;
- pattern recognition within the brain;
- the effect of money, conformity and group think;
- why some people turn are able to resist such processes.
Heffernan cites a number of psychological studies, summarising them in a way that’s easy to understand while also drawing out the most pertinent and interesting bits. These were, for me, the most interesting parts of the book, particularly because she includes details from famous studies that are often overlooked but also because she conveys the science effectively.
Unfortunately the book fails to convince when applying these studies to real world situations. Although the Enron case is supposed to be the book’s starting point, it doesn’t actually get a lot of page time and is treated superficially (only one interviewee is cited in support of Heffernan’s argument). Because the approach is repeated across all of the case studies, none of them are really examined in detail.
The extrapolation also seemed to sometimes be stretched to fit the theory with Heffernan unwilling to consider alternative matters that could explain the outcome (e.g. she blames the unwillingness of music executives in the 90s to adapt to on-line music when she pitched a platform to them but the unwillingness could stem from practical financial reasons). Ultimately I think it would have been better to apply the theories to one or two specific cases and drilling down in depth to give a fuller picture of how these psychological processes work in practice. Certainly, I would have found it more convincing.
I also thought that Heffernan failed to fully consider the effect of whistle blowing helplines in large organisations, which are implemented to counter some of the psychological effects she discusses. Even if she doesn’t believe they’re effective, it would have been interesting to find out why and whether any studies have been done on such lines.
Ultimately it’s an interesting read and there are plenty of footnotes if you want to read on. It’s also well written and thought-provoking. I would read Heffernan’s other work on psychology but feel this is more of a nutshell overview than a definitive guide.
The Verdict:
Margaret Heffernan’s book is a useful overview of the psychological processes that can make an individual wilfully blind to the obvious. The author does well at summarising psychological studies to support her arguments but, for me, does less well at applying those studies to real world scenarios. This is partly because the scenarios are dealt with too superficially, with Heffernan only interviewing one witness/participant to back up her theory. It’s an interesting read and plenty of footnotes for those who want to go on and read more on the subject. For me though, it works more as a nutshell than as a definitive guide and I don’t think the author succeeds in making her case.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.
In this controversial and eye-opening book, distinguished businesswoman and writer, Margaret Heffernan, examines the phenomenon of wilful blindness in all its forms: in history, in science, in business, in government and in the family.
Heffernan takes as her starting point the 2006 case of the US Government vs Enron where those in charge failed to observe the corruption which was unfolding before their very eyes, but where not knowing was no defence. The guilty verdict sent shivers down the spine of the corporate world and beyond. More recently, bankers and governments were wilfully blind to the looming financial crisis. However, in our own lives too, we can also be guilty of overlooking what is right in front of us, whether in the office or at home – with potentially disastrous consequences.
Drawing on a wide array of sources from psychological studies to interviews with the people involved she examines what it is about human nature which makes us so prone to wilful blindness. And she examines why whistleblowers and Cassandras are so ordinary and yet so very rare.
Thought provoking and supremely relevant, this is a book which none of us can afford to ignore.
Wilful blindness is a legal term for the state where a person wilfully closes their eyes to events that should otherwise be obvious to them. This book examines the different psychological processes that can operate to make people wilfully blind to a situation, including:
– exhaustion;
- pattern recognition within the brain;
- the effect of money, conformity and group think;
- why some people turn are able to resist such processes.
Heffernan cites a number of psychological studies, summarising them in a way that’s easy to understand while also drawing out the most pertinent and interesting bits. These were, for me, the most interesting parts of the book, particularly because she includes details from famous studies that are often overlooked but also because she conveys the science effectively.
Unfortunately the book fails to convince when applying these studies to real world situations. Although the Enron case is supposed to be the book’s starting point, it doesn’t actually get a lot of page time and is treated superficially (only one interviewee is cited in support of Heffernan’s argument). Because the approach is repeated across all of the case studies, none of them are really examined in detail.
The extrapolation also seemed to sometimes be stretched to fit the theory with Heffernan unwilling to consider alternative matters that could explain the outcome (e.g. she blames the unwillingness of music executives in the 90s to adapt to on-line music when she pitched a platform to them but the unwillingness could stem from practical financial reasons). Ultimately I think it would have been better to apply the theories to one or two specific cases and drilling down in depth to give a fuller picture of how these psychological processes work in practice. Certainly, I would have found it more convincing.
I also thought that Heffernan failed to fully consider the effect of whistle blowing helplines in large organisations, which are implemented to counter some of the psychological effects she discusses. Even if she doesn’t believe they’re effective, it would have been interesting to find out why and whether any studies have been done on such lines.
Ultimately it’s an interesting read and there are plenty of footnotes if you want to read on. It’s also well written and thought-provoking. I would read Heffernan’s other work on psychology but feel this is more of a nutshell overview than a definitive guide.
The Verdict:
Margaret Heffernan’s book is a useful overview of the psychological processes that can make an individual wilfully blind to the obvious. The author does well at summarising psychological studies to support her arguments but, for me, does less well at applying those studies to real world scenarios. This is partly because the scenarios are dealt with too superficially, with Heffernan only interviewing one witness/participant to back up her theory. It’s an interesting read and plenty of footnotes for those who want to go on and read more on the subject. For me though, it works more as a nutshell than as a definitive guide and I don’t think the author succeeds in making her case.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.
