People don’t pay attention at all, which is terrifying. I worked in auto insurance for 17 years and every day, people would say that the other car “came out of nowhere.” It sounded like everyone lived in a strange dimension with all these cars suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
It’s terrifying to think of planes hitting other planes.
Another fascinating subject. Have you seen the clip with the gorilla that people don’t see? As I type this, I’m worried that you mentioned this clip in your article and I read it but didn’t see it.
I have indeed seen the gorilla & basketball clip. It’s very effective. This post is about a similar phenomenon indeed, to do with what we psychologists call top-down & bottom-up processes. If I remember rightly, 97% of the input to our primary visual centres is top-down, meaning it’s driven by our prior learning & expectations. It’s just surprising there aren’t more accidents.
The surprising element for me is how much our vision is driven by prior learning and expectations. I already figure that our conceptual perception of reality works that way, but it’s alarming to hear that actual visual perception is subject to the same process. It makes sense, hearing it from you, but I would not have guessed it. I think I just didn’t want to believe it.
Good post. Your example is rather like the basketball taps/gorilla task. That's a weird effect.
Regarding air crashes, I like the Youtube channel below for its examination of the reasons for particular accidents. There are many examples there of pilots getting flummoxed in various ways. Sometimes they manage to correct the situation, other times they don't.
You are absolutely right John. This post is about a phenomenon in the same area as the gorilla clip. We psychologists talk about top-down & bottom-up processing. It’s a big area of research, in fact, bringing in attention, perception, memory, & other cognitive processes. What you perceive us rarely an undistorted picture of what’s really out there. Thank you for the link! I’m going to check that out…
What you study is really interesting. Airlines are very involved in this topic because pilot error in any form can lead to death and catastrophe. It’s very high stakes for them.
Here’s one case study you’ll find relevant. It was an important crash in aviation history because it led to major changes in how cockpit crews were trained.
The basic story is that on an approach flight to Miami in 1972, a small green light malfunctioned. The two pilots became so engrossed in fixing this that they essentially forgot to keep the plane flying - in other words, their situational awareness deteriorated sharply and a kind of narrow tunnel vision fixated on the green light took over.
The result was a crash and the deaths of 101 people. In response, airlines started to develop CRM (Crew Resource Management). It became forbidden for both pilots to focus on the same problem. CRM is still being refined today.
People don’t pay attention at all, which is terrifying. I worked in auto insurance for 17 years and every day, people would say that the other car “came out of nowhere.” It sounded like everyone lived in a strange dimension with all these cars suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
It’s terrifying to think of planes hitting other planes.
Another fascinating subject. Have you seen the clip with the gorilla that people don’t see? As I type this, I’m worried that you mentioned this clip in your article and I read it but didn’t see it.
I have indeed seen the gorilla & basketball clip. It’s very effective. This post is about a similar phenomenon indeed, to do with what we psychologists call top-down & bottom-up processes. If I remember rightly, 97% of the input to our primary visual centres is top-down, meaning it’s driven by our prior learning & expectations. It’s just surprising there aren’t more accidents.
The surprising element for me is how much our vision is driven by prior learning and expectations. I already figure that our conceptual perception of reality works that way, but it’s alarming to hear that actual visual perception is subject to the same process. It makes sense, hearing it from you, but I would not have guessed it. I think I just didn’t want to believe it.
Good post. Your example is rather like the basketball taps/gorilla task. That's a weird effect.
Regarding air crashes, I like the Youtube channel below for its examination of the reasons for particular accidents. There are many examples there of pilots getting flummoxed in various ways. Sometimes they manage to correct the situation, other times they don't.
https://m.youtube.com/@Aviationaccidents
You are absolutely right John. This post is about a phenomenon in the same area as the gorilla clip. We psychologists talk about top-down & bottom-up processing. It’s a big area of research, in fact, bringing in attention, perception, memory, & other cognitive processes. What you perceive us rarely an undistorted picture of what’s really out there. Thank you for the link! I’m going to check that out…
Another good airline vdeo here - four case studies analysing pilot mistakes based on attitudinal flaws. The main ones identified in plane crashes are:
1. Anti-authority.
2. Impulsivity.
3. Invulnerability.
4. Macho.
5. Resignation.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EEZCx1aJteQ
What you study is really interesting. Airlines are very involved in this topic because pilot error in any form can lead to death and catastrophe. It’s very high stakes for them.
Here’s one case study you’ll find relevant. It was an important crash in aviation history because it led to major changes in how cockpit crews were trained.
The basic story is that on an approach flight to Miami in 1972, a small green light malfunctioned. The two pilots became so engrossed in fixing this that they essentially forgot to keep the plane flying - in other words, their situational awareness deteriorated sharply and a kind of narrow tunnel vision fixated on the green light took over.
The result was a crash and the deaths of 101 people. In response, airlines started to develop CRM (Crew Resource Management). It became forbidden for both pilots to focus on the same problem. CRM is still being refined today.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PhO-87wwLJs
Intriguing. Thanks, Jason.
Thank *you* for reading!