Seth Godin: The Arrogance of Willfull Ignorance

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The arrogance of willful ignorance

People have come before us, failed, learned, written it down. Scientists have figured out what works, and proven it. Economists have gained significant understanding about the long-term impacts of short-term decisions. And historians have seen it all before.

How dare we, then, decide to just wing it? To skip class. To make up history. To imagine that science is a matter of opinion, something optional, a diversion for the leisure classes… How can we work in the marketing tech field, for example, without knowing about David Ogilvy and Lester Wunderman and Claude Hopkins? Or Kaushik and Shirky?

If you're doing important work (and I'm hoping you are), then you owe it to your audience or your customers or your co-workers to learn everything you can. Feel free to ignore what you learn, but at least learn it.

Phi Beta Iota:  Willful ignorance is a form of corruption or lack of integrity.

See Also:

Review: Daydream Believers–How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power

Review: Day of Reckoning–How Hubris, Ideology, and Greed Are Tearing America Apart

Review: Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of SpectacleReview: In the Name of Democracy–American War Crimes in Iraq and Beyond

Review (Guest): Idiot America — How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free

Worth a Look: Book Review Lists (Negative)

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