The conundrum of open secrets—a term for widely known yet unaddressed issues within workplaces and other social structures—has been brought into sharp focus by recent research from MIT philosopher Sam Berstler. As reported by MIT News, Berstler digs into why these known-yet-ignored truths present unique challenges, paving the way for both personal and systemic ramifications.
At the crux of the problem, as Berstler sets out in her latest paper, “The Structure of Open Secrets,” is what's described as an "iterative" structure of such secrets. This structure fuels a vicious cycle—people avoid discussing open secrets, and they also avoid discussing why they don’t discuss them, leading to a situation where addressing the original issues becomes near impossible. Berstler punctuated her findings with a poignant statement, "Open secrecy norms are often moral disasters," as per MIT News.
The iterative nature of open secrets significantly erodes our ability to deal with the underlying problems, Berstler explains. The social dynamics at play mean that the very act of keeping these secrets can define in-group status, effectively establishing who is 'in' and who is 'out' in a given social setting. Yet, Berstler is careful to note in her research that not every withheld truth is inherently detrimental—a nuanced view acknowledging that some secrets may prevent harm or embarrassment when they concern benign personal matters.
However, the defense of open secrets often winds up creating insurmountable barriers for those seeking justice or change, especially when the secrets "shields for powerful people guilty of serious, even criminal wrongdoing," Berstler asserted in her work, as mentioned by MIT News. This, paired with a fresh look at communication’s dramatic structure, courtesy of sociologist Erving Goffman's perspective, imparts a more layered understanding of how conversations function within the patronage of societal norms and unspoken rules.
By dissecting how open secrets operate and constricting the flows of organizational dialogue, Berstler’s research serves as a call to more critically consider not just what is explicitly communicated, but the significance of what remains unsaid. As she told MIT News, "There are structural features of open secrets that are worrisome," underscoring the importance of awareness in the face of these often-intractable social phenomenon.
