University of Illinois, USA Daniel Simons

(© 2010 Daniel Simons)

You might have heard about my earlier demonstration in which people fail to notice a person in a gorilla suit when they are busy counting how many times a group of people pass a basketball (see www.theinvisiblegorilla.com). People can only experience the gorilla effect once-after they know to look for a gorilla, it is no longer unexpected. But what would happen if we tried showing you another video just like it? If you know that something unexpected might happen, and you actively look for unexpected events, does that make you more likely to notice them? Try it for yourself.

Daniel Simons’s presentation of “The Monkey Business Illusion” at the Best Illusion of the Year contest in 2010. He gave the presentation while wearing a gorilla suit.

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