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And You're Worried That Your CCW Will Be Spotted By Strangers Not Looking Fot It?

3K views 19 replies 20 participants last post by  JDlewis 
#1 ·
http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/ <~~~(Required Linkback In Order To Post These Here)


These are not directly firearm related but are very applicable to the awareness (or lack of it) of the general population.
The human brain filters out so much of what is not specifically being paid attention to. Folks just DO NOT see the things that you believe they MUST be noticing.

Watch The VIDS.
























And The Best One Yet. :biggrin2:

 
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#5 ·
I remember the first time I watched the ball passing & gorilla vid - I missed the gorilla completely...& under counted the ball passes by 1. Funny thing is, everytime I see one of those now I still under-count the passes by 1. :scratchchin:
 
#6 ·
I got a few things but totally missed others (I won't give them away for those who are still interested in watching the videos).

I think there was someone who explained that as far as switching people that, to us, it's not the person that is so important to us as it is the encounter. As long as the encounter stays along a regular and acceptable line of interaction our brains don't pick up on details because we are already preforming a task (giving directions, etc). When things start to get off the prescribed level of "rightness" our alertness goes up and we start looking for the usual and details to help us explain the situation or look for danger.

I don't know how right that is but it seems to make a level of sense. I wonder what would happen if one of the people being switched would say something really unusual or not "acceptable" and then switch and see if the level of recognition of a switch would go up.
 
#8 ·
Very interesting series of videos. I got a lot of them, but missed just as many. Like the last one, I got 8 or 9 changes, but who would think there would be 21 changes in that short clip.
 
#10 ·
When things start to get off the prescribed level of "rightness" our alertness goes up and we start looking for the [un]usual and details to help us explain the situation or look for danger.
Lima is correct - and of course this makes perfect sense. You do not walk around taking exact note of everything around you, memorizing what every person is wearing, as if at any moment you're going to be asked to do one of those "spot the differences" tests.

Your concentration and focus are finite quantities, requiring large amounts of glucose, and so our brains have evolved to be highly efficient. We learn to use patterns such that we can push non-essential activity off to the level of scripts. As an example, consider paying for something in a convenience store. Usually, what's important is speed. You focus on completing the transaction quickly.

During the payment sequence, if someone surreptitiously switches clerks on you, so what?

This is all about SA. Consider the basketball-gorilla video. The trick involves the setup. You are told to "count the number of passes." As a result, you put all of your processing power on that task. If you're sharp, you'll get the number correctly (and probably miss the gorilla). Magicians rely on misdirection like this to perform their illusions.

But what if the task is different? Sit someone down in front of that video and tell them, "watch for anything unusual." They'll spot the gorilla straightaway.

In a similar way, when you're walking back to your car in a parking lot at night, your task is not, "count the number of cars and memorize the makes and models," no, your task is "be alert to the possibility of danger and watch for anything unusual." That's where you should be putting your attention.

Good SA, in this scenario, is using your eyes and ears. It's picking a path that avoids traps and blindspots, thinking like a predator and avoiding simple mistakes.

I'm going into detail on this because many people do not understand what good SA is. I guarantee that right now, someone is reading this and getting ready to pen an angry response: "No, you wrong. I see everything. I memorize the license plate of every car I walk past. I memorize the position of every telephone pole and blah blah blah." And of course they don't.

If you waste your concentration and resources on needless tasks, you'll have less chance to spot the really important things. Good SA is selective attention - it's knowing what to focus on and how to scan. It adapts to circumstance and threat level, per Cooper's color scale.

Yes, OKShooter is correct: As long as your firearm is reasonably concealed, and you do not act suspicious and draw attention to yourself, nobody is likely to notice.

That means that you have to perform your end of the script, and behave like a "person not carrying a gun." If you're nervous, sweating, looking around, tugging at your shirt tail, patting your gun, etc., then you'll look out of place and unusual and increase the odds of "being made."
 
#12 ·
Seen some of the before, so knew what to look for, but still missed some of the things. Just more proof that the vast majority of people, even if looking for a concealed weapon won't see your carrying. It also is why the vast majority of people never see, or realize someone is carrying openly.
 
#13 ·
OH, those are good! Those videos are VERY good! I think they should be a part of SD training courses. They should also be part of lawyers training regardign the accuracy of eye witness testimony. Shockwave is correct about paying attention to the task at hand. How many times have you walked to your car in the parking lot thinking about something other than the potential for threats in your environment? How many times have you shot and IDPA scenario and been surprised by the appearance of a pop-up or mistaken an unarmed target for an armed one? The greater the number of distractors and the stronger they are, the more you will be unable to see the other things going on. That is why training pays off; it teaches you how to focus and what to focus on...
 
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#14 ·
Wow! my second grade teacher was right. I am not so bright. I missed so many of them. Back to school. This time around I think I will talk less and learn more. :rofl:
Seriously these were great. Amazing how our minds can be so easily deceived.
 
#15 ·
it's not the person that is so important to us as it is the encounter.

pretty much

often we filter out what we are accustomed to seeing, and that which comes close, so we can 'concentrate' on what we are told to look at.
and even that is seen more as we are told to see it than for what it really is.
like the golilla...if its unexpected and not relevant to what we were told to look for--its filtered out.

our 'blind-spot' is a hole lot bigger than just down & to the right...
---------------------

as this relates to SA, when a group of 3 or 4 or 5 ( they are in motion and gosh, but we don't know how many they are...)
one of the center 3 will talk (audio distraction) while another makes motions with his hands/arms (visual distraction) as yet a fringe BG moves to broadside you.

so they have you listening from one direction as you are getting visual input from another direction all the while the real action is happening elsewhere.
never think cause they are BG's that they are stupid.

you have to learn to look at one person other than the one you are 'talking' with. and keep scanning ( including glances at your 6)
this will upset them (shame...) cause now you are not playing their game.

soon, hopefully, they will give up on you and leave cause there are easier pickings elsewhere.
 
#16 ·
I remember the first time I watched the gorilla video. It went something like this:

"One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six... 'Why is there a gorilla?' Seven... 'Why is it dancing?' Eight....."

I'm just going off my memory of the video. I think there are other iterations of it, but the concept is the same. Luckily for me I'm ADD enough that I notice the weirdest things. My wife just has to shake her head at me sometimes, we'll be talking about something and I'll notice a car I really like. I'll turn my head and watch it while making a comment, and she'll give me that look. But I can quote back to her what she said without fail. Maybe I'm just weird; I can split my attention.
 
#18 ·
I remember the first time I watched the gorilla video. It went something like this:
"One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six... 'Why is there a gorilla?' Seven... 'Why is it dancing?' Eight....."
Yeah, I noticed the gorilla about half way through because I lost count of the ball and said "forget it.." as soon as I stopped counting the balls, I saw the gorilla standing there.
 
#17 ·
I worked for a state correctional agency for several years, and was lucky to have good training. I worked outside of a facility so my offenders were much more of a threat to me. I work as a probation offcier now. It is almost second nature for me when I approach somebody or they are in my field of view to give them a visual once over. I notice the color of their belt or what kind of shoes they are wearing etc. I am lucky to have an almost photographic memory. I cant watch the videos here at work so I will check them out tonight at home. I will be interested to se how well I do.
 
#19 ·
I caught the "abrupt" changes in most of the videos. Likewise, I did well on the counting videos. The gradual changes or the more minor background changes, not so much. I think some of it may be that we are exposed to crappy video and movies all the time and filter out any but the most gross editing mistakes. The other part is what lima pointed out, our expectations. I remember a study from college that implied part of why hangovers are so bad is that our normal filtering process is impaired for the duration of the hangover, making sensory inputs too much - in other words, the lights, sounds and pain aren't that bad, its just your brain temporarily can't filter what it normally does. We need that filtering to function normally.
 
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