Sep 25, 2012

The Illusion of Attention

 


Inattentional blindness, also known as perceptual blindness, is failure by a person to notice some stimulus that is in plain sight. This stimulus is usually unexpected but fully visible. This typically happens because humans are overloaded with inputs. It is impossible to pay attention to every single input that is presented. A person’s attention cannot be focused on everything, and therefore, everyone experiences inattentional blindness. People can falsely believe that they do not experience inattentional blindness. This is due to the fact that they are unaware that they are missing things. Inattentional blindness also has an effect on people’s perception. (Wikipedia)


We're not as aware as we would like to believe. We all know this, but our egos love the illusion of being in control. Experiments like this mock our delusions. Our focused attention has a significant effect on how we perceive the world and, therefore, on what enters into our conscious awareness. Equally as interesting as this is what we choose not to pay attention to. For example, texting while jaywalking may deafen us to an approaching car or being totally engrossed in a book (or thought) & losing sight of everything around you. The implications are indeed enormous, from the personal to the political.

OneLove

:::MME:::

 

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