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Inattentional blindness 0:46
A 46-second explainer of Inattentional blindness, narrated over the same demo you can try yourself.
Try the interactive Inattentional blindness demo
What this video covers
Inattentional blindness is missing something in plain sight because your attention was busy elsewhere. When you're focused on one task, things you aren't looking for - even big, obvious ones - can pass right in front of you unseen, because seeing takes attention, not just open eyes.
You were counting, so you sailed right past the thing that wandered through the middle of the screen - and it was hardly subtle. That's inattentional blindness: attention, not your eyes, decides what you see. It's the reason an important message parked outside the task someone is focused on can go completely unnoticed, no matter how visible you thought you'd made it.
