Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Invisible Gorilla In The Room: One reason so many people are so ignorant [View all]Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)48. At no point have I indicated that missing the gorilla is not "natural"
And I'm not quite sure what you mean by "adaptive" in this respect.
My point is that such behavior is not limited strictly to vision, it extends to any pattern seeking behavior in humans.
Our pattern seeking behavior in general is subject to being distracted by any number of means. If you set people to seeking one sort of pattern then they will be far less likely to notice another pattern that may be just as strong but which they have not been primed to search for.
The general principle is that you tend to find you are seeking, a cognitive bias. The invisible gorilla effect is a subset of cognitive bias and a demonstration of the basic principle.
Edit history
Please sign in to view edit histories.
58 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RecommendedHighlight replies with 5 or more recommendations
The Invisible Gorilla In The Room: One reason so many people are so ignorant [View all]
Fumesucker
Jan 2013
OP
IMO people are ignorant because they don't or can't listen with their senses. All through K-12
jody
Jan 2013
#1
Agree. One must learn to focus on the topic not unlike concentration of an athlete, e.g. golfer.
jody
Jan 2013
#5
Understand, that's why the "quiet eye" concept is so intriguing. Foveal vision feeds one part of
jody
Jan 2013
#10
I've worked on vision concepts for so long as a competitor that it's now purely unconscious.
jody
Jan 2013
#14
I suspect though that those people in their environment could see things you found difficult
Fumesucker
Jan 2013
#15
It is why after every major event, except for plants, eyewitnesses see nothing
graham4anything
Jan 2013
#4
I find it hard to believe you think the average freeper is as well informed as the average DUer
Fumesucker
Jan 2013
#13
Equating basic perceptual processes with purposeful intellectual processes is really reaching
loyalsister
Jan 2013
#17
You don't think perceptual errors have anything to do with people being ignorant?
Fumesucker
Jan 2013
#23
For a lot of people things that conflict with the propaganda are indeed unintentionally ignored
Fumesucker
Jan 2013
#29
Well, all our women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above
Brother Buzz
Jan 2013
#32
It doesn't prove that we "miss" anything of the kind. It proves that we're programmed to be
ancianita
Jan 2013
#37
It wasn't intended as a scientific experiment but as a demonstration of selective inattention
Fumesucker
Jan 2013
#39
Interesting. Part of what's going on in this thread is the collision of two world views.
alberg
Jan 2013
#52
I have the opposite problem... The gorilla made me forget what the assignment was!
reformist2
Jan 2013
#57