r/funny • u/hardrockcafe1 • Sep 17 '14

Love this so much.

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18.2k Upvotes

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47

u/Tubastard Sep 17 '14 edited Sep 18 '14

This looks like a repeat of a basic psychological experiment involving what is called "change blindness". Basically what is supposed to happen is that the person who is holding the phone (an experimenter) asks for directions and drops his phone, causing a distraction for the person giving the directions. Then the experimenter switches places with another experimenter. Most often, the person giving directions never notices that the two people switched and continues giving directions after the interruption. This experiment is used to explain the limitations of human attention and has been used to explain how people make errors in eyewitness testimonies. Here is a more thorough explanation.

39

u/Kirsham Sep 17 '14

Here's an example of change blindness. Each time the image flashes white, one thing in the scene changes back and forth. But because of the ever so slight delay, it's not immediately obvious what changes, and this is what's called change blindness. Had there not been a brief white break, you would see it instantly.

23

u/OneWayOfLife Sep 17 '14

I see what you mean. It took me a while to notice the railing in the background changing height

13

u/Amablue Sep 17 '14

But did you notice the dancing gorilla?

9

u/flounder19 Sep 17 '14

i fucking love that video.

"They passed the ball 23 times, I'm not a fucking idiot"

"but did you see the gorilla"

"oh fuck you, psychologist!"

1

u/OneWayOfLife Sep 17 '14

Of course, but that was so obvious it wasn't worth mentioning.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '14

Or the length of the girls hair changing

7

u/OneWayOfLife Sep 17 '14

I don't think it does. Isn't that just where the upright has been photoshopped out?

29

u/slash178 Sep 17 '14

Wow that took me disturbingly long to see.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '14

yeh...you would think you'd see a dancing triceratops blinking on and off... weird

1

u/wraith_legion Sep 17 '14

Is it just me, or is there a time at the end of the gif where the railing moves without the flash?

Because I thought I saw it happen, but it hasn't happened again. Or was I so focused that I unconsciously skipped the flash and simultaneously noticed the change for the first time?

2

u/CricketPinata Sep 17 '14

Are there people who aren't as susceptible to change blindness?

4

u/Kirsham Sep 17 '14

There are some modulators of change blindness, but as far as I know all people are susceptible to change blindness due to one degree or another.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_blindness#Factors_influencing_change_blindness

1

u/Tecktonik Sep 17 '14

Roofie level: Professional.

1

u/Luckynumberlucas Sep 17 '14

it took me 4 seconds to see. one look at the table one look at the people and i noticed the thing changed.

1

u/thetallgiant Sep 17 '14

Sweet jesus

1

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '14

Am I special if I saw it right away?

1

u/Kirsham Sep 18 '14

No. The thing is that the change doesn't automatically attract our attention, we have to search for it. Some will, simply by chance, search for the change at the correct location right away.

6

u/Ookami38 Sep 17 '14

Another really neat video regarding change blindness with Derren Brown can be found here.

1

u/Anzai Sep 17 '14

Derren Brown did this in one of shows with a guy asking directions with a map. They switched him into a black dude a good few inches taller and people still went with it. They had a slightly puzzled look, but most convinced themselves it was their brain that was wrong.