The author and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan discusses her new book Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril (Doubleday, 2011), offering examples of how we fall prey to ignorance in the workplace, government, big business, and in our personal lives, with Joseph Planta.

Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril by Margaret Heffernan. (Doubleday, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Willful Blindness

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at THECOMMENTARY.CA.

There’s an absorbing new book out, Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril. It’s a fascinating book that chronicles anecdotes where turning a blind eye to things, has lead to big problems. Invariably, in the review of things, we realise what went wrong and ask ‘How were we so blind?’ The book’s author Margaret Heffernan joins me now. Could disasters like the BP oil well rupture have been anticipated? How could no one know prisoners were being tortured in Abu Ghraib? How was the housing bubble missed? How do we let credit card bills go unopened? In the book she also looks at the studies of psychologists and neuroscientists, and offers explanations as to why we turn the other cheek as it were. It’s a fascinating book. Margaret Heffernan is a former producer for BBC Radio and TV, and she’s had vast experience as an entrepreneur, having been CEO of several companies. Her previous books include The Naked Truth, How She Does It, and Women on Top. Her work has been compared to the books Malcolm Gladwell. She blogs for The Huffington Post and writes for other publications. Her website is at www.mheffernan.com. The book is published by Doubleday. In Toronto this day, please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Margaret Heffernan; Good morning, Ms. Heffernan.

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