Margaret Heffernan: The dangers of "willful blindness"

Gayla Benefield was just doing her job -- until she uncovered an awful secret about her hometown that meant its mortality rate was 80 times higher than anywhere else in the U.S. But when she tried to tell people about it, she learned an even more shocking truth: People didn't want to know. In a talk that's part history lesson, part call-to-action, Margaret Heffernan demonstrates the danger of "willful blindness" and praises ordinary people like Benefield who are willing to speak up. (Filmed at TEDxDanubia.)
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[@wadegadsby8325]

We've seen a lot of willfull blindness in the last couple of years! Margaret Heffernan got the truth

[@TWILS02119]

What a beautiful truth.

[@ermanakar]

I still come back and watch this absolute masterpiece of a Ted talk sometimes. It’s so profound and I literally think the salvation hides in making whistleblowers heroes.

[@gb4375]

@ermanakar brilliantly said.

[@healingcreationsmandalaart5056]

Very important talk in 2021.

[@StevenYang506]

"The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it."

[@austin2245psn]

The Mr Smith effect ... me.me/i/the-mr-smith-effect-2470e881bef341698367fa1c10d900e1 And mR smith can manifest into anyone who’s not unplugged To attack you the moment you speak the truth lol there’s a meme about it somewhere

[@wonsuk307]

powerfully moving.. thank you TED for posting this on your channel

[@trex9008]

This is fantastic! Look what's going on around YOU and observe what's happening? See what YOU learn & w/critical thinking devise solutions to problems YOU uncover? This is America! Dummy down and accept your fate, blindly going over the cliff the 1%ers put in front of YOU. Thank YOU Margaret!

[@loversarelunatics]

phenomenal really thankful to have access to these

[@emerald764]

One of the best TED talks I've seen.. a really important subject and brilliantly delivered.

[@Niallphillips]

one of my favorite talks ever, well done!

[@neriumsuitedher]

This is so incredibly profound and inspiring. I believe it also speaks to every single one of us because everybody has similar experiences.

[@kaminarigaston]

This is why I come back to TED talks. Very good point.

[@Superstarfruit888]

And is this talk in the US? No. It is a very *safe* distance away, in Hungary. Thank you, Tedtalks, for posting it globally to protect her, allowing her to inspire us all.

[@loram.8807]

this is massively important info, thank you so much for sharing. it’s grounding and re-orienting 💛

[@iluvenisp]

Wow, I wasn't expecting something so powerful. Very important message at the end!

[@drchaffee]

Best TED talk I've heard in awhile. Meaningful topic, and not an ounce of self-promotion or corporate advertising.

[@purplegoat2500]

Great talk!

[@mikecorbeil]

Very good talk by Margaret Heffernan.

[@jamesslattery8069]

Brought on the tears!

[@cinderELLA686]

This woman was extremely well spoken. Really enjoyed this message.

[@samiyam3949]

Really great speech Ty

[@AudioDriver]

This was a really good, inspirational TED talk!

[@bermudaguy1]

This was very interesting and inspiring. It also adds to my libertarian view that people need to be free to blow the whistle, without huge objections and even imprisonment from our corporations and government institutions. We all need to feel that type of freedom and engage a little.This is about our responsibilities.

[@AlexB9012]

Incredible speech :)

[@christinebadostain6887]

Thank you, Margaret---chills---truth is sooo refreshing----I wonder if you practice uncovering and exploring your own blindspots?

[@sakke1379]

Very good talk

[@debn1954]

Excellent!

[@northcacalacka545]

Great awareness speech Margaret!

[@chrishwk]

One of the better TED talks in a long time.

[@meteryam]

This has just become one of my favorite KZbin videos.

[@00Ahdia00]

Brilliant!

[@Duncan_Idaho_Potato]

Powerful. And frightening.

[@gearsNtools]

This is an all too common problem. True evil only prevails when good men do nothing. Maybe this doesn't quite qualify as evil, but not willful blindness is a real problem sometimes it's hardest to e the squeaky wheel. Great Talk

[@boomarketing9766]

Fantastic!

[@jimbrausky]

I've been reading her book for a couple years. Lol slowly but surely. Is a great, very informative book, that i discovered in one of these videos

[@KMHill]

I wish TED videos were consistently posted in HD!

[@MsEnternity]

simply powerful

[@jitsroller]

Amen bro preach it. Deep but right on in my estimation.

[@mitchpaliga4851]

My hometown, born and raised. I have asbestosis from growing up in Libby. I do not live there now.

[@summerv1273]

she should be Snowden's defense lawyer. she is brilliant, thank you, we need more people like you!

[@drecodaisy]

There is a price for everything, especially silence. When you speak the truth, you don't always know what the outcome will be. But you must trust that the universe will eventually be your refuge.

[@whoaminow100]

i'm reminded of Albert Speer's testimony at Nuremberg. i paraphrase ... i didn't know what was going on in those camps because i knew that something was going on that i didn't want to know about. He went on to say that because he was in a position to know and chose not to that he was guilty of failing to stop it, unlike all the other high ranking Nazis.

[@desdicado999]

+richard reeves nuremberg was a farce ,and the purveyors of that conflict still run the world

[@lauerjus]

*Being typed from Libby, MT* A Wonderful Talk. I was curious when this came up as the newest TED Talk (Love me some TED Talks) and when she started to mention Libby I was a bit surprised. This issue is quite the subject here, clearly. I love this town and I work at a local Burger place, but seeing so many unhealthy people all the time is very saddening. Thankfully we have improved dramatically since the start of the Center for Asbestos Related Disease and Environmental Restoration's work.

[@LeonidasGGG]

This was one powerful Talk.

[@Marialla.]

Thanks for pointing that out. She should have made that clear in her talk.

[@Sbeitan]

A speech for history!!

[@Marxvnn]

Well constructive!!!

[@ricklutztix]

Great speaker. I do agree the speech could have been shorter. Overall she made a great point and appealed to her audience.

[@jooji1979]

Amazing

[@Vacuity_Pisces]

感謝分享.

[@rununderground]

Willful Blindness is in everyone's court. Action....

[@Ocelot]

The people know the dangers of willful blindness, they see it every day, whether it is them or their friends. Most however wont react unless it affects them personally or immediately.

[@mikecorbeil]

And some people don't want to see or know anything about willful blindness; people living in witting denial, f.e.

[@sarahteague5144]

you could say they are......... willfully blind about their willful blindness

[@cacatr4495]

They don't see what they don't see.

[@0xStephanyx0]

She kept it interesting :) Very good video :)

[@TheNorthernDruid]

Loved the speech. One thing caught my ear and although off-topic, I just have to get out there. Vermiculite is not a form of asbestos, but can often be contaminated with asbestos. Especially when originating from Libby, apparently. Might seem a small thing, but I guess I'm a bit compulsive about truth.

[@maranorth]

Wow! Wow! Wow!

[@xlsyor]

Now, not everyone thinks clearly when something that amazing takes place, so I can understand your amazement at folks who might have been focused on just getting to work, or home, or, as the one person pointed out, reluctant to pay attention to someone THEY might have felt was acting funny. The two times I saw something amazing and was accompanied by others were so bizarre that I think none of us mentioned it again simply because we couldn't believe we witnessed it.

[@MichaelPomeroyinmauritania]

What a fascinating question! I think it cuts to the heart of the fundamental reason we believe things. People are more than willing to form strong beliefs with little or no evidence and people are willing to overlook huge evidence to preserve current beliefs. I think it comes down to what we were taught as children, before we had the mental tools to evaluate those teachings. Ever notice that the majority of the religious share their parents beliefs and politics too. Belief has Social Inertia!

[@cacatr4495]

*emotional enmeshment Most beliefs are founded or cornerstoned by emotions. Most people do not test and prove suppositions, notions, or teachings with critical thinking, examination and investigation: it is emotions that are the primary drivers. They have made emotional investments in their beliefs, whether about their spouse (who in some cases they do not actually know in truth) or a "cause" they believe in, or whatever other belief they invest in. People are often without crucial knowledge, but between ego and fear, and oft times, deception, they "feel" they know all they need to know, and have *no idea what looms in front of them that they can't even see or identify because of their ignorance. How can they protect themselves or deal with anything if they don't even know what they they are dealing with? They can't. Even "the scripture" says "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, for you have rejected knowledge . ." Hosea 4:6 They don't know what they don't know, and they're not wise enough to care that they don't know crucial things that are having HUGE impacts on their lives. (This is why wisdom-understanding is of principal value, and should be treasured and sought more than any other thing in this life, for it is by wisdom-understanding that man seeks and gains knowledge.)

[@aureusyarara]

(As a sidenote, she could probably talk about how to fill forms in triplicate and I would still want to listen. She is an amazing speaker.)

[@eatcarpet]

I thought "been there, done that", but it was a great talk.

[@OMGStevesChannel]

I copy pasted from a quotes page. Thanks for the clarification!

[@Claucarcha]

Cómo hago para escucharlo en español o subtitulado?

[@lauerjus]

But I must say, this is a fantastic place nonetheless. We have such a fantastic community, that even the events of the past, we have continued to actively improve many aspects of our town. I am very involved with the performing arts groups and facilities here and it is such a wonderful feeling bringing entertainment and comfort to all those who might need it. Though this place might not be as lively or active as it was, there is still so much life and hope.

[@MMcCubbing]

Stupider is accepted in common usage (the real source of a language as all languages change over time based on usage) and indeed many dictionaries permit it now as well.

[@PlasteredDragon]

Willful blindness... damn I see that every day.

[@StevenYang506]

I refer everyone to Kathryn Schulz's TED Talk titled 'On Being Wrong'. I bought her book afterwards, and it's literally changed my life.

[@Slarti]

Regardless of UFOs sometimes people will still close their eyes when you present hard evidence to them.

[@1polymath]

The GOP need to hear this.

[@roidroid]

i actually think that's pretty fascinating, i would have loved to be there with you. You could have tried to shake me outof my trace or something. At the very least it would have been great for you to have solidly VIDEO documented the entire experience (look at the plane, look at my non-reaction, ask me to also video the whole situation from my perspective too (even though i don't see the plane), etc). But i completely understand video footage can be hard to make during emergencies.

[@Eliphas_Leary]

Doug's mom has some good points. Our freedoms and rights have been hard fought for, but people sitting lazy on their hands and taking those freedoms for granted while not using them are a threat to those freedoms.

[@Mammon-magazinDe]

good speech, especially with the latest nsa-scandals in mind...

[@VertigaDesignMEDIA]

You will fight to protect how you have lived your life, and when someone lives there life differently to yours, you incite war against them and become willing to kill them even. They have gone against everything you have lived for. They believe everything you did not believe in for your entire life. It is pretty hard for anyone to come to terms with such a thing. This is why your beliefs must embody the entirety of human nature, in order to deal with it in the most natural manner possible.

[@shandcunt9455]

Agreed

[@siouxlequinton5786]

What a thesis

[@Barkainian]

same here

[@MichaelPomeroyinmauritania]

I love how you just explained away with hallucination anything that may contradict the established norm. Religions are very good at this trick too. You a preacher by chance?

[@xlsyor]

After seeing something when I was alone, I resolved only to inform very, very close friends, the rest of humanity be damned. I suppose the speaker is right, in that most of us fall back on willful blindness to retain some sense of normalcy, of predictability in our lives. That those commentators express their opinions (remember, they have less evidence than you--YOU were there....) in a way that makes you seem like a fool is a terrific way of telling you who you might want to avoid,

[@pkeyrich]

A mine near Libby, Montana, was the source of over 70 percent of all vermiculite sold in the United States from 1919 to 1990. There was also a deposit of asbestos at that mine, so the vermiculite from Libby was contaminated with asbestos. Vermiculite from Libby was used in the majority of vermiculite insulation in the United States and was often sold under the brand name Zonolite. If you have vermiculite insulation in your home, you should assume this material may be contaminated with asbestos.

[@xlsyor]

even though there may always be something you can learn from them. I suppose it's the law of diminishing returns with their ilk; one could learn something, but it would take so long to find out, time could be better spent elsewhere, learning. Good luck.

[@isagenix4u]

I call willful blindness, a mood of resignation and wonder is it brought about by collective trauma?

[@sberu9528]

Willful blindness and denial, two peas in a pod or the same thing? Selective awareness is what we are. All of us are the product of our very own nature and nurture and we fly the flag of that particular reality and the survival of that reality depends on us to defend it. We do that as individuals and we do that as collectives. While this is regrettable and tragic in a small town in Montana, think about Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea, WW2 etc. Hundreds of millions have been slaughtered by this capacity we have to see things "our" way.

[@Tupster]

I just checked another quote page. "inert" just didn't sound right, lol

[@nmyph9]

Ignorance is bliss for the ignorant, it's hell on the rest of us. Some of the best 15 minutes I spent all day. The 10 minutes I spent after reading the comments some of the worst 10 minutes I spent all day.

[@AtticusAmericanus]

Think you of the fact that a deaf person cannot hear. Then, what deafness may we not all possess? What senses do we lack that we cannot see and cannot hear another world all around us?

[@nahnuhhuh]

has anyone already added Spanish subtitles to this vid? help..

[@thatwasinteresting.8150]

6:00

[@xlsyor]

I'm puzzled. In comments about the TED video on willful blindness, you gave a testimonial about something you saw and people disparaged you for it. I couldn't have organized a better example of willful blindness if I had tried. Regardless of whether what you saw actually occurred or if they think you are a troll, the truly "scientific" response would have to have been, "OK, that sounds pretty amazing, did you think to get photos, or run over to a neighbor's house to enlist them in observing it?"

[@Freezencrash]

eureka!

[@45von]

Excellent !!! Snowden & Manning and Many others that step forward for the principal AND for everyone.

[@pudgiesC8]

Right, don't forget Reality Winner.

[@nicholastesoriero4855]

anyone know about any ted lawyer-ish talks?

[@USERNAMEfieldempty]

everything.

[@EvanghelosPapaioannu]

If you search wikipedia for "Willful blindness" you just find one page in English language, no translations at all

[@petrada1980]

A beautiful woman

[@TheSuperCommentGuy]

"Willful blindness", also "Ignorance is bliss".

[@Marialla.]

Good point, actually. I had a knee-jerk reaction there that OBVIOUSLY a woman with a newborn needs help, and holding a job is practically impossible while caring, alone, for an infant. But then the question would just change to "am I in a position to care for this infant alone?" and when the answer comes back negative, she would need to get an abortion or set up an adoption or something. There would need to be a culture shift to make those choices less negative for her.

[@pdoylemi]

I agree completely, I just think the Catholic Church may not have been the best example for the point. It is not altogether wrong though. If you are convinced that that church is your only way to salvation, there is a strong element of coercion. Still, one of the points made in this video is that it is situations like that, where people feel powerless to change something, that they intentionally blind themselves to it, rather than face the facts.

[@SystemLordNemo]

My guess i certainly plausible and it does not require tons of assumptions but since I know very little of the mater therefore I will not continue to speculate further.

[@YouTubeallowedmynametobestolen]

5:26 -- "And what they discovered was that the town had a mortality rate eighty times higher than anywhere in the United States." I assume she means 80 times as many deaths per capita per year. Someone correct me if my math is wrong here. The mortality rate in the U.S. is about 900 in 10,000 people. That's 0.9 in 100 people. 80 times that would be 72 people out of 100. So if I have it right, she is saying that 72 people out of 100 die every year in Libby. Um, ... really? In a span of five years, that town of 15,000 people would be reduced to a town of 26 people. So, ... Is my math wrong? Did this woman, who did oodles of research, prepared her speak so carefully, etc. get it THAT WRONG? Or ... something else?

[@aylawestfall703]

"She had freedom, and she was ready to use it."

[@bobomcgraw]

I was being diplomatic, they are both accepted.

[@mikeryan6637]

I see your point, re the Catholic Church, and you have already attracted support for that point. However, my main point remains valid: there is a difference between wilful blindness and enforced silence and acceptance.