A simple, but eye opening test (Focus of attention and ease of missing big stuff)

[may_be_ignorant]

I must share this. Normally I wouldn't post something like this, but I think you'll understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4

It's safe for work.

[friedo]

I was all like "wooooo! I got it right!" :D And then I was all like :smack:


That bear is a terrible moonwalker, BTW.

[jackelope]

I saw the bear, but I thought it was a person dressed as Death. I thought, "Hey, that person dressed as Death is weird. Oh no! Did I miss someone making a pass?"

[astro]

This has been done so often people automatically look of the gorilla/bear/Rosie O'Donnell sauntering through the crowd.

[TheChileanBlob]

I missed the bear AND I got the number of passes wrong! :(

[Lanzy]

Someone is going to have to come up with a better test, this is very old.

[clairobscur]

I completely failed the test.


I didn't notice the bear and also failed to count correctly the number of passes

[ZipperJJ]

I've seen the gorilla version of this test and I totally knew I should be looking for such a thing and I still failed!

[smiling bandit]

I didn't even think of that guy. I'm not sure what sticking some random guy I can't hardly see proves. Of course, to me he looked like a random member of the "dark clothing team".

[Chefguy]

I like this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItvZ7vZHjgI&NR=1).

[A Monkey With a Gun]

I didn't even think of that guy. I'm not sure what sticking some random guy I can't hardly see proves. Of course, to me he looked like a random member of the "dark clothing team".Then this thing went completely over your head. The whole point of the PSA is to "look out for cyclists" (did you miss that part, too?) because they are "random guys you can't hardly see". You missed the whole point, and missed it badly.

[Martian Bigfoot]

I read this thread before watching, as well as the video comments, so I totally knew that there would be a moon walking bear...

and I still missed it!
:eek: :smack:

[lizardling]

I accidentally counted the extra pass before the clip started, but I saw the bear. Didn't notice it moonwalk though, just when it turned to face the camera.

[pbbth]

This one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNF9QNEQLA&NR=1) got me. I knew to be watching for the bear in the first one.

[Shodan]

Then this thing went completely over your head. The whole point of the PSA is to "look out for cyclists" (did you miss that part, too?) because they are "random guys you can't hardly see". You missed the whole point, and missed it badly.
I kind of doubt that not seeing cyclists on the road is much like concentrating on some YouTube video.

I suppose being aware of cyclists is a good thing. All this video tests is your awareness of dancing bears.

Regards,
Shodan

[garygnu]

If they asked for the number of passes the team in black made, everybody would see the bear.

[Sailboat]

If they asked for the number of passes the team in black made, everybody would see the bear.

That's kind of the point, isn't it? We're all watching the white team (cars) and not looking for the black team (cyclists).

[Cat Whisperer]

I liked the version of the test to alert us to how unable we are to concentrate on two things at once, like the cell phone and driving (the one with the big guy in a rabbit suit that you completely miss while trying to pay attention to the phone conversation while counting t-shirts). I find this kind of test really irritating; not because they're wrong, but because I get irritated when I'm trying to do two things at once and not doing either well.

[needscoffee]

I nearly hit a bicyclist trying to watch this video while I was driving, AND I missed the bear!

[Freudian Slit]

I already knew about this, so I couldn't help seeing the bear. I was surprised he wasn't a gorilla.

[clairobscur]

I already knew about this, so I couldn't help seeing the bear. I was surprised he wasn't a gorilla.



Try this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQmdoK_ZfY&feature=related)

[clairobscur]

This one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNF9QNEQLA&NR=1) got me. I knew to be watching for the bear in the first one.

Loved it! :)

[ShibbOleth]

That's kind of the point, isn't it? We're all watching the white team (cars) and not looking for the black team (cyclists).

Well, if there bicyclists dress to blend in with the background it might be an issue. People tend not to see the chick in a bear suit because she's dressed in the exact colors that we're actively trying to filter out. If people dress in black and drive at night without lights we probably won't see them as they dart through the shadows.

[outlierrn]

I nearly hit a bicyclist trying to watch this video while I was driving, AND I missed the bear!

Good job, if you'd hit the bear it would have mauled you!

Well, if there bicyclists dress to blend in with the background it might be an issue. People tend not to see the chick in a bear suit because she's dressed in the exact colors that we're actively trying to filter out. If people dress in black and drive at night without lights we probably won't see them as they dart through the shadows.

Actually, you and Shodan are probably mistaken. Variations on this experiment and IRL suggest that inattenional blindeness is little effected by visibility.


Submitted for your approval
http://invisiblegorilla.com/

[Shodan]

Maybe we aren't talking about the same thing. When I drive, I am paying attention to the road. In other words, I would probably miss a bill board, even if it had a dancing bear. Because a bill board isn't likely to affect my driving.

And you can fool people by mis-directing their attention. OK - magicians figured that out a few thousand years ago.

Regards,
Shodan

[outlierrn]

No, we're talking about the same thing. Inattentional blidness occurs when your finite ability to pay attention is saturated, even something you would want and expect to notice may not cross that threshold.


These examples don't involve distraction or camoflage and they're in the center of the field of view

NASA conducted an experiment in a flight simulator in which commercial pilots were tested to see if they would notice distractions on a runway during simulated landings.[2] Those who were trained pilots did not notice and landed directly on top of the distraction 1/4 of the time

a red cross unexpectedly appeared and traveled across the display, remaining on the computer screen for five seconds. The results of the experiment showed that even though the cross was distinctive from the black and white objects both in color and shape, about a third of participants missed it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inattentional_blindness