In 2004 Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris received the Ig Nobel Prize in Psychology, awarded for “achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think,” for the experiment that was the inspiration for their popular book, The Invisible Gorilla, and website.
Daniel Simons is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois. His research focuses on the limits of human perception, memory, and awareness, and he is best known for his research showing that people are far less aware of their visual surroundings than they think.
We recently sat down with Simons to talk about his current work.
In celebration of the June 7th release of the paperback edition of The Invisible Gorilla you guys are starting a charity campaign. Please explain.
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Site last updated: 25 May 2013
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“This tendency to seek causes after the fact is problematic because many factors can lead to the same outcome.”
No, often we must seek causes after the fact. That in itself is not “problematic.” It only becomes a problem when people jump to conclusions, or allow themselves to be influenced by bias or emotion. In other words, when people do not think critically.
Simmons makes a very good point in regard to “rational deliberation” and scientific method.