Illusion of Attention

We think we notice everything in our environment — but we miss an enormous amount, especially when our attention is focused elsewhere. Inattentional blindness is pervasive.

• In Simons and Chabris' 'invisible gorilla' experiment, viewers told to count basketball passes were so focused they completely failed to notice a person in a gorilla suit walking through the scene.
• Drivers using mobile phones miss pedestrians and traffic signals they would normally register automatically.
• Surgeons so focused on one part of an operation have missed active bleeding in another area — with fatal consequences.