Count The Passes
A few years ago I saw this visual cognition experiment at a science museum and it’s been in the back of my memory ever since. I’m not sure how well it’s going to work online at YouTube quality but try to pay attention and we’ll see if it works.
Instructions – Part One: When viewing the video, try to count the total number of times that the people wearing white pass the basketball. Do not count the passes made by the people wearing black.
The remainder of the instructions are after the jump. If you’re viewing this on one page, don’t read the text below until after you’ve watched the video once.
Instructions – Part Two: How many did you count? Did anything seem out of the ordinary? Now go back and watch it again without counting anything. Notice anything odd this time?
The official host of this experiment online is here, it was created and described in a paper by Daniel Simons at the University of Illinois Visual Cognition Lab and Christopher Chabris in the Harvard University Psychology Department. It had the extreme honor of winning an Ig Nobel award in 2004. The Visual Cognition Lab has a number of additional videos taken from similar experiments.
Count the number of passes visual cognition experiment black white gorillas gorilla suit monkey costume
September 27th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
I’ve been tricked!
[.]
September 27th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
i got the number of passes and trickery. does that make me superhuman?
[.]
September 27th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Crazymonk, I thought you were the one who originally showed that to me.
[.]
September 27th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
I guess not.
[.]
September 28th, 2007 at 12:31 am
I saw this by myself in a science museum and was absolutely fooled by it. When I watched it the second time I laughed out very, very loudly. Totally unanticipated. It’s great when it works.
Nacho, while you may have spotted the irregularity, you missed out on the fun of that second viewing.
[.]
September 28th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
THAT WAS AWESOME!
[.]
October 1st, 2007 at 1:28 pm
I use that clip all the time in introduction to psychology class discussions. It’s a good way to blow people’s minds.
If you liked that, may I strongly suggest viewing Derren Brown’s “The Heist” in which Mr. Brown uses psychological conditioning to get ordinary people to rob an armored car without expressly telling them to do so. It will also blow your mind.
[.]
October 3rd, 2007 at 9:13 am
I LOVED that. I laughed out loud too, but if you laugh out loud in the kitchen and nobody hears you……
[.]
November 19th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
That was interesting – I did get a glimpse of the ape when I was counting, but I was so busy counting that I thought it was an additional player wearing black.
[.]
November 20th, 2008 at 5:47 am
i love you fuckers
[.]
November 20th, 2008 at 5:49 am
Everyone who goes on this site are pedios ! And you need to get a life ! Haaaaaa =) , And Zac Efron is fit as fuck !
[.]