Why You Miss Big Changes Right Before Your Eyes | NOVA | Inside NOVA:

Change Blindness: How can we miss big visual changes that happen right before our eyes?

Psychologists who study the fascinating phenomenon of change blindness know that merely looking at something is not the same as actively paying attention to it. As the demonstration in this video shows, people can be blind to significant changes in a visual scene that are obvious to someone who expects that these changes are going to happen.

[lolilops]

Even when the two blokes at the start are shown side to side, I can't tell them apart!

[samk]

I didn't notice the two guys at the beginning were different people, but I did notice he went from collared shirt to undershirt.

[vanquish]

Damn, the guy at 2:13 was having NONE of it.

[Wolf]

I have been a professional hypnotist for over 23 years. The phenomena discussed here are real. What the researchers do not seem to account for, however, is the ability of the human mind to generate both positive and negative hallucinations based on deeply-held expectations. From my perspective, what I would say is going on is that people are hallucinating details that align their perceptions with preconceived notions of what they should be experiencing. For example, in the first clip with the guy typing on the computer, I would argue that the reason many people do not notice they are two different people is because the human brain actually alters the appearance of the second guy in order to make him look consistent with the appearance of the first guy. This is also the same mechanism behind optical illusions: Your perception of what you are seeing alters according to what you expect to see.

[wesleytarr]

I just read up on this concept in my Psych textbook and decided to find an entertaining video demonstration; then, you got me right at the beginning of it! Did not see that coming.

[calebgamble]

and thus the science behind stunt doubles..

[JasonB]

The first test was cheating because they chose two people that look alike even when video is paused and looking at them at the same time. 😒

[Ageminij]

As someone who is partially sighted and socially anxious, I pretty much never know what anyone looks like, even if I directly interact with them.

[softbreezy]

I've watched this 3 times and I still think the first two men are the same person.

[zpqlxis]

As I man who doesn’t like looking at other people’s faces. Sometimes I’m don’t even know who I’m talking to.

[kisterdrums]

1:55
That lady is my dad's girlfriend, just found out a few minutes ago when she told me i'm still shocked, considering I just watched this video in psychology class about a month ago without even realizing it was her. That building behind her is where she worked, now she lives in wisconsin with us.

[Phrixusify]

when that bald guy kept talking about subtle changes in the background, i kept looking for something to change

[RjVega]

Very cool.... and the guy at  2:13 will be taking crap from nobody today.

[quelorepario]

How about switching the Asian guy for a black guy, i would love to see how far can we push it.

[planethedgehog]

3:20 "Faulty memories can *wreck* havoc." No, but they can *wreak* them.

[omayraortega]

In the very first example, even after they showed the men side-by-side, I couldn't tell them apart :(

[Loddol]

even when they explained they were different people.. they looked nearly identical!

[Stuff_And_Things]

Its not always about missing the changes. We accept the reality we are given. From the fantasies of childhood we learned that our reality can be different than we perceive. So when something changes we've trained ourselves, with the help of people like parents and friends, to ignore what we believed was true, and go with what we see now.
We get so good at it that we often don't even know we're doing it anymore. ;)

[hughwaldock]

I find this concept both fascinating and terrifying at the same time. The murderous potential of that concept; the first person could be your lover the second your hit man!

[carolfleurette]

PBS, please add closed captioning to your videos so they are accessible to everyone!