David Eagleman

essentially asking you what you notice and you see the trick and you think, wow, how did I not notice that? But it's extraordinary. It's a terrific video.

Exactly right. So this is what's classified as inattentional blindness. Your attention is on the basketball. You're following the basketball very carefully to see where it's going. And as a result of attending in one spot, you have inattentional blindness to other things in the scene, like the gorilla walking in. Change blindness is essentially a version of that.

Exactly right. So this is what's classified as inattentional blindness. Your attention is on the basketball. You're following the basketball very carefully to see where it's going. And as a result of attending in one spot, you have inattentional blindness to other things in the scene, like the gorilla walking in. Change blindness is essentially a version of that.

Exactly right. So this is what's classified as inattentional blindness. Your attention is on the basketball. You're following the basketball very carefully to see where it's going. And as a result of attending in one spot, you have inattentional blindness to other things in the scene, like the gorilla walking in. Change blindness is essentially a version of that.

You don't know what to look for in the photograph of the airplane. And so you just don't see things.

You don't know what to look for in the photograph of the airplane. And so you just don't see things.

You don't know what to look for in the photograph of the airplane. And so you just don't see things.

I don't know. Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, magicians have been for centuries very good at this. It's so easy to get the audience's attention to go here and there. They do all kinds of things like they never move their hand in a straight line. They move in a curved arc. And for whatever reason, you just can't resist having your attention follow that.

I don't know. Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, magicians have been for centuries very good at this. It's so easy to get the audience's attention to go here and there. They do all kinds of things like they never move their hand in a straight line. They move in a curved arc. And for whatever reason, you just can't resist having your attention follow that.

I don't know. Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, magicians have been for centuries very good at this. It's so easy to get the audience's attention to go here and there. They do all kinds of things like they never move their hand in a straight line. They move in a curved arc. And for whatever reason, you just can't resist having your attention follow that.

Yeah. And whatever they're doing where they are moving their hand, what they do is they set things up so that you're a little suspicious maybe of what they're doing with their left hand. So you're thinking, I'm a smart audience member. I'm going to keep an eye on the left hand. And while they're doing that, while you're watching, they're doing the right hand is do whatever they want.

Yeah. And whatever they're doing where they are moving their hand, what they do is they set things up so that you're a little suspicious maybe of what they're doing with their left hand. So you're thinking, I'm a smart audience member. I'm going to keep an eye on the left hand. And while they're doing that, while you're watching, they're doing the right hand is do whatever they want.

Yeah. And whatever they're doing where they are moving their hand, what they do is they set things up so that you're a little suspicious maybe of what they're doing with their left hand. So you're thinking, I'm a smart audience member. I'm going to keep an eye on the left hand. And while they're doing that, while you're watching, they're doing the right hand is do whatever they want.

And it's total inattentional blindness to the right hand.

And it's total inattentional blindness to the right hand.

And it's total inattentional blindness to the right hand.

Yeah. So this is something I've been very interested in for a very long time is about... how as a species, we're so cooperative. The reason we've built our whole civilization as well as we have is because we're so good at linking arms and making stuff happen. But we evolved in small groups. And so we are very prone to saying, this is my in-group and those people over there, they're my out-group.

Yeah. So this is something I've been very interested in for a very long time is about... how as a species, we're so cooperative. The reason we've built our whole civilization as well as we have is because we're so good at linking arms and making stuff happen. But we evolved in small groups. And so we are very prone to saying, this is my in-group and those people over there, they're my out-group.

Yeah. So this is something I've been very interested in for a very long time is about... how as a species, we're so cooperative. The reason we've built our whole civilization as well as we have is because we're so good at linking arms and making stuff happen. But we evolved in small groups. And so we are very prone to saying, this is my in-group and those people over there, they're my out-group.

And it turns out there's been lots of studies like that from my lab, many other labs showing that we just have less empathy for people in our outgroups. We just don't care about them as much as in if they get hurt or something. So here's a study that I ran in the lab some years ago.