Discussion on the Post Above

Did you watch the video from the post above? How many passes did you count between members of the team wearing white shirts? I counted 14. Did you see anything strange? If not, watch the video again and keep an eye out for the gorilla. You aren’t alone if you missed it. Over 50% of folks fail to see the person in the gorilla costume walking through the center of the action.

This is the example of inattentional blindness that I mentioned in a previous post. My colleague Dr. Larry Pace pointed me to the video. Here’s another page with some more examples. This is so fascinating. My favorite is the study where they ask a subject for directions and creatively swap the recipient of those directions. The study revealed that the more the recipient approximates the subject in age, etc., the more likely the subject is to notice the switch. The bigger the differences, the more likely it is that the subject will keep giving directions to a completely different person and never notice the switch.

This inattentional blindness can play a big role in poor decision-making in survival situations, according to the book I’m reading. Basically, if you’re lost in the wilderness with me, it’s best to ditch me as soon as possible. Your chances will improve! I wouldn’t have seen the gorilla if I hadn’t known it was coming.

This has so many implications for the relationship between learning and learning environments. I can’t wait to read more.