Hiding hand principle

The hiding hand principle is a theory that offers a framework to examine how ignorance (particularly concerning future obstacles when person first decides to take on a project) intersects with rational choice to undertake a project; the intersection is seen to provoke creative success over the obstacles through the deduction that it is too late to abandon the project. The term was coined by economist Albert O. Hirschman.

Writing in The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell brought the concept to life, retelling the story of the construction of a railway tunnel through Hoosac Mountain in northwestern Massachusetts. Construction proved much harder than anticipated, but eventually was completed, with positive results. Gladwell was reviewing the book, "Worldly Philosopher: The Odyssey of Albert O. Hirschman," by Jeremy Adelman (Princeton University Press, 2013).

Hirschman described the concept of the Hiding Hand principle in the second section of his essay "The Principle of the Hiding Hand" where he states:

• Planning fallacy – Cognitive bias of underestimating time needed

• Bent Flyvbjerg, 2014. "What You Should Know about Megaprojects and Why: An Overview," Project Management Journal, vol. 45, no. 2, April–May, pp. 6–19.
• Sunstein, Cass R., Albert Hirschman's Hiding Hand (June 10, 2014).

• Full text of The Principle of the Hiding Hand by Albert O. Hirschman
• The Principle of the Malevolent Hiding Hand; or, the Planning Fallacy Writ Large (Preprint)
• Rethinking the Development Experience
• Development Projects Observed
• THE GIFT OF DOUBT Albert O. Hirschman and the power of failure