“Anthro-Vision: A New Way to See in Business and Life” Review

By Hector E. Garcia

In her new book, Anthro-Vision, Gillian Tett brings together two unusual complements of knowledge and expertise: finance and anthropology. As an award-winning Financial Times journalist and PhD in social anthropology. Tett provides a more comprehensive and broader perspective on the crises humanity has been facing to address the inconsistencies and blind spots she’s observed in the 21st century.

Whereas anthropology was used in the 19th century as a tool to justify racism and empire, it can now be constructively used to demonstrate that cultural assumptions can be complementarily different, not better or worse overall. It can help us define and optimize our common humanity.

The book’s core message is that “we find it hard to see what is really happening in the world around us today and need to change our vision…. Big Data tells us what is happening. It cannot tell us why since correlation is not causation.”

Tett presents an alternative to our usual analysis of specialized tunnel vision, which results in a mentality of I’m right-you’re wrong and tribalism. Anthro-vision allows for self-examination, seeing the world from other points of view, empathy and wisdom. Instead of allowing technology to define our lives and moral concepts through sequential and binary logic, anthropology proposes that “an ethnographic conversation is the bridge to the moral.”

Though technology and physical science have provided us with powerful analytical tools, these are ineffective without context and culture. Narrow visions of reality lead to confusion and fear. Broader contexts and meaning empower us with hope and purpose. Anthro-Vision can allow us to connect the dots and improve our management of reality.