Dateline on believing what you see

[JonLP24]

I was reminded of it in a thread in GD. I typed out this long post trying to include as much information about the show while being as brief as possible but when I hit the post button, the thread was locked! Anyways I didn't feel like my post going to waste and thinking that it was interesting I decided to share here.

Are eyes are often fooled without realizing it. It is the "secret" of magic. You're so focused on what the magician wants you to focus on that you miss the actual trick. (Something I learned before the episode from someone who could do some real impressive tricks which he says are not real magic. He can do things like make someone's card appear in a coke bottle with someone that is holding it in a crowd full of people).

I recall Dateline talked about this last Friday in fact. While he was playing with a model of a brain on camera and talking about what is going on the episode. When he replays that very same scene, he changed suits and background and I didn't even realize it probably because I was focused on the brain model.

He also explained on a case where someone was exonorated by DNA who was locked up because the accuser swears it was the guy. It turns out the other guy had very similar eyes so you could understand the mistake. To illustrate this, they had people show up to some business. While there, the customers handed the piece of paper to the clerk who would step down and someone else who looked similar would step and give back the piece of paper and continue the conversation like nothing happened. I only recall 1 out of 10 or so noticed and even in one routine they used a much older woman with different hair color to stand up and the customer did not even think anything of it.

After that they showed different types of people asking for directions on a busy sidewalk. During the process of giving directions, the NBC crew when come between the two people with a billboard and someone else would appear and the person giving directions did not notice the majority of the time. Even when they switched with female and male or someone that was noticeably taller than the person originally asking for directions.

They also did this with speed dating and about half were fooled when their dates were switched during the date. The used the excuse to answer a call and someone else would show up at the table.

It was really eye opening and scary when it comes to things like being a witness in a trial. The explanation I remember for this is expectations. The reason why the brain and eyes were fooled in those situations is they did not expect at all for someone else completely to pop up with a different form or that you don't expect the person you giving instructions too, to suddenly talking to someone else entirely about the same thing.

Found like to what I was talking about: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38154937/ns/dateline_nbc-the_hansen_files_with_chris_hansen/

[madinmaryland]

1. Like any other piece of evidence, it must be verified.

Unfortunately it is, at time, taken as gospel.

[JonLP24]

3. Too bad you didn't see the episode

They showed real life video clips of these people being fooled. Like I said, in the opening segment I didn't notice the background or the suit changing colors. This kind of thing happens in movies when they switch shots. Off the top of my head I've seen The Truman Show dozens of times. One day I noticed when Truman starts to have an idea with what is really going on he runs to his best friend who works at a store. You see him stocking candy bars, when it cuts scenes and back to the one the size of the candy bars in the vending machine the number of candy bars gets smaller in the row and stacks them again.

Also they showed the switcheroo a few times before letting the audience in on it and I completely didn't notice at all there was a different person talking to the direction giver.

I also didn't notice Chris Hanson walk in the middle of the stage, give a disco spin, and wave at the camera will two teams were dribbling and passing a basketball.

Also the guy explaining this phenomenon wrote a book about this. I'll try to find a link but everything was done on camera were it was verified by my own eyes or lack thereof.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38154937/ns/dateline_nbc-the_hansen_files_with_chris_hansen/

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. Indeed. The least reliable 'evidence' in a trial is an eye-witness. We miss all sorts of shit.

Except for the rare person who is either trained to notice stuff or just has the brain (dis?)function to do it, most of us are pretty clueless about what stuff really looks like. Even our own homes.

Ask someone to describe the colors and arrangement of furniture in the place they've lived in for a long time, and they won't know.

Or as Sherlock Holmes did once, he asked Watson how many steps there were on the way up to 221B Baker Street.

Most people couldn't tell you how many stairs there are - and yet, if you came in and somehow added or took a step away (and magically left everything else where it is), they will have the kinesthetic memory when they take the stairs to know that one has been added or taken away.

Our minds plays ridiculous tricks on us all the time.


I had a cool experience earlier this summer with a young girl who had an incredible capacity to notice and remember stuff - I didn't test her by saying "Look at this and remember, and then tell me about it", I was asking her about the people she'd been around that day - "What is Bob wearing? What color? What does his shirt say? What colors did he use on his name tag?" stuff like that. I asked her about five or six different people, and she nailed everything. Blew my mind. (I was asking her questions while the people were behind her and in direct view of me so I could verify everything).

One of those rare people who's eyes and brain are actually linked together quite well.

I wish I could do that.

[JonLP24]

4. Reminds me

back when I was dating someone that I thought might be toxic, I checked out a book that (I forgot what was titled) explained how you can read people's body language by suggesting training your brain to notice the colors of what people are wearing, what someone is doing across the street and color clothes they are wearing, etc. Explaining by doing that you will be able to recognize what someone is really feeling based on body language. That was years ago and that training my brain to do that only lasted about 1-3 weeks and it was another 2-3 years before I decided I was better off without that person.