There is a fascinating article in the BBC Psychology section about entitled "Why we find it difficult to recognise a crisis". It puts forth some answers to the question: How did two of the most advanced countries in the world [UK & US], with technology and expertise to spare, fail to recognise the crisis as it unfolded? A final answer will only come with hindsight and public inquiries, but there are many known psychological processes that cause individuals and organisations to miss the signs of a coming emergency – even when it is staring them in the face.
The writer outlines a few reasons why this happens, but one popped out at me. There is a concept called “functional stupidity”, described by Mats Alvesson at Lund University in Sweden and Andre Spicer at City University of London in the UK. The pair found that organisations often hire clever and talented people, but then create cultures and decision-making processes that do not encourage them to raise concerns or make suggestions. Instead, everyone is encouraged to emphasise positive interpretations of events, leading to “self-reinforcing stupidity”.
The article describes this in more detail, plus has some additional points, such as optimism bias, confirmation bias, and group think. It's a good read.<modsnip>
Why we find it difficult to recognise a crisis
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