Christopher Chabris

The Invisible Gorilla

1. IDEA 1

   We miss what we don't expect

   Chabris and Simons describe their famous experiment where viewers counting basketball passes often failed to notice a person in a gorilla suit walking through the scene. Focused attention, they show, can make us blind to the unexpected.

2. IDEA 2

   We overestimate our attention

   The authors call this the illusion of attention: we believe we notice far more than we actually do. They argue this helps explain accidents, such as drivers on phones failing to see motorcyclists.

3. IDEA 3

   Vivid memories can still mislead

   The illusion of memory is the belief that our memories are accurate records. The authors describe how vivid memories, even of major events, can change over time without our noticing.

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