Chapter 1
The lying eye and how optical illusions hack your sight
Chapter 2
The rewrite machine and why memory is a puzzle
Chapter 3
Blind spots and the shortcuts your brain takes to save energy
Chapter 4
Cultural lenses and how background shapes what we see
Ch 3 · Blind spots and the shortcuts your brain takes to save energy
artiteacher Brain Blind Spots
My brain fills the blank! (Oh yeah!) / Saves some juice in the tank! (In the tank!)
artiteacher A famous psychology experiment demonstrates the limits of human selective attention.
BETA
artiteacher Match the optical illusions to discover how your brain fills in memory gaps.
artiteacher Psychologists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris found that over 50% of people counting basketball passes missed a chest-beating gorilla.
Quiz
Which animal suit did an actor wear in the famous 1999 Harvard study on inattentional blindness?
Quiz
What percentage of participants failed to notice the unexpected gorilla in the 1999 basketball passing experiment?
artiteacher The optic disc lacks photoreceptors, creating a physical gap in human vision.
Quiz
What is the anatomical name for the area where the optic nerve leaves the retina, causing the blind spot?
Fun Fact
The sleeping brain: While you sleep, your brain replays and organizes memories, literally washing away toxic waste proteins that build up during your waking hours.
Quiz
In the famous 1998 change blindness experiment, what object was carried between the researcher and the participant during the swap?
Quiz
What is the psychological term for the failure to detect changes in visual scenes across brief interruptions?
Glossary
blind spot (noun)
An area on the retina where the optic nerve exits the eye, lacking photoreceptors and sensitivity to light. French physicist Edme Mariotte first discovered this ocular gap in 1668 while experimenting with visual perception.
An area on the retina where the optic nerve exits the eye, lacking photoreceptors and sensitivity to light. French physicist Edme Mariotte first discovered this ocular gap in 1668 while experimenting with visual perception.
Quiz
Which university did psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger work at when they published their 1999 study?
Quiz
What is the scientific term for 'thinking about thinking' or the ability to monitor one's own cognitive processes?