Knowing an illusion is an illusion does not stop the experience. That is the point that tends to change how people think about “just look harder” advice.
This also connects attention to certainty. We assume we notice what is important, but we mostly notice what we are set up to look for, and we backfill confidence after the fact. Inattentive blindness makes that obvious.
The jump from visuals to everyday disagreement is where this becomes useful. Two people can witness the same interaction and leave with different “facts” because interpretation is happening in real time through expectation, context, and prior experience. Memory then edits for coherence, not accuracy.
The practical takeaway is modest. Treat first impressions as hypotheses. When something feels obvious, ask what else could fit the same data. That habit reduces unearned certainty without turning everything into relativism.
This is such a well-written piece! Thanks for sharing. I'm currently on a growth mindset journey and this gives me a deeper understanding of the importance of our environment, culture, etc in shaping our perception and our mindset. Highly recommended!
Thank you very much, I really appreciate that. You’re right to highlight environment and culture. How we see the world is never just about what’s in front of us, it’s shaped by context, habits, and expectations long before we notice it.
I just read How to Hold a Cockroach by Matthew Maxwell and this article ties with the idea of the short novel perfectly.
The novel touches on this idea of changing the perspective of our lives by utilizing peoples disgust of cockroaches. Following with the main character, you realize it is not about the cockroaches, but about how we get stuck in these certain beliefs without ever viewing a different perspective.
I feel that the article explained this idea in such a interesting way. Especially with using illusions to explain it. People will see an illusion one way and cannot be convinced (or maybe refuse) to see it another.
Life is full of perspectives, we just have to learn to open our minds to them.
You’re right, it isn’t really about the cockroaches or the illusions themselves, but about how easily our interpretations harden into certainty. Once a perspective feels settled, it can be surprisingly resistant to change, even when alternatives are right there.
Thanks for taking the time to share this, I'll definitely be checking out the How To Hold a Cockroach book.
A very accessible and well illustrated article, thank you.
I especially appreciate your approach best illustrated by your comment “For me, this is where psychology begins. Not in abstract theory, but in everyday moments that feel familiar until they are examined more closely.”
And I feel this is what makes your writing relevant and engaging.
I look forward to exploring more of your work as it unfolds here, and observing how this connects with my exploration of psychology through narrative.
Excellent piece on top-down processing. The bit about inattentional blindness really underscores how selective our perception is by default. I noticed this in user testing sessions where participants completely missed obvious UI elements becuase their attention was locked onto a specific task. The confidence-accuracy gap in eyewitness memory is probaby one of the most underappreciated findings in applied psychology, especially in legal contexts.
So interesting what you say about user testing and such a powerful real-world demonstration of inattentional blindness. When attention is locked onto a goal, even highly salient elements can effectively disappear. From the participant’s point of view, they genuinely weren’t there. That’s what makes it such a striking reminder that perception isn’t about what’s on the screen, but about what the mind is prepared to process.
I’m glad you mentioned the confidence–accuracy gap too. It’s one of those findings that feels counterintuitive until you begin to explore it, and then you start seeing its implications everywhere, especially in legal and investigative settings. Confidence tells us how coherent a memory feels, not how faithful it is.
Thanks for the comment and for connecting the ideas to your own experience.
That’s a classic example of “looked but did not see.” On familiar routes, driving becomes highly automated, so perception is guided more by expectation than by what’s actually in front of us.
Congratulations on starting your psychology degree. I wouldn’t say any single book is necessary, but if you’re interested in how these ideas show up in everyday life, I hope you’d find mine interesting and worth reading alongside your studies. You might also want to check out my main website https://www.all-about-psychology.com/, lots of free and comprehensive information and resources that you should find useful.
Knowing an illusion is an illusion does not stop the experience. That is the point that tends to change how people think about “just look harder” advice.
This also connects attention to certainty. We assume we notice what is important, but we mostly notice what we are set up to look for, and we backfill confidence after the fact. Inattentive blindness makes that obvious.
The jump from visuals to everyday disagreement is where this becomes useful. Two people can witness the same interaction and leave with different “facts” because interpretation is happening in real time through expectation, context, and prior experience. Memory then edits for coherence, not accuracy.
The practical takeaway is modest. Treat first impressions as hypotheses. When something feels obvious, ask what else could fit the same data. That habit reduces unearned certainty without turning everything into relativism.
This is such a well-written piece! Thanks for sharing. I'm currently on a growth mindset journey and this gives me a deeper understanding of the importance of our environment, culture, etc in shaping our perception and our mindset. Highly recommended!
Thank you very much, I really appreciate that. You’re right to highlight environment and culture. How we see the world is never just about what’s in front of us, it’s shaped by context, habits, and expectations long before we notice it.
Your book is now on my to-read list in 2026! Hope to purchase it soon after I'm done with the others. 😅 All the best to you!
Cheers, really hope you find it interesting. Would love to know what you think.
I just read How to Hold a Cockroach by Matthew Maxwell and this article ties with the idea of the short novel perfectly.
The novel touches on this idea of changing the perspective of our lives by utilizing peoples disgust of cockroaches. Following with the main character, you realize it is not about the cockroaches, but about how we get stuck in these certain beliefs without ever viewing a different perspective.
I feel that the article explained this idea in such a interesting way. Especially with using illusions to explain it. People will see an illusion one way and cannot be convinced (or maybe refuse) to see it another.
Life is full of perspectives, we just have to learn to open our minds to them.
That’s a really thoughtful connection, thank you.
You’re right, it isn’t really about the cockroaches or the illusions themselves, but about how easily our interpretations harden into certainty. Once a perspective feels settled, it can be surprisingly resistant to change, even when alternatives are right there.
Thanks for taking the time to share this, I'll definitely be checking out the How To Hold a Cockroach book.
A very accessible and well illustrated article, thank you.
I especially appreciate your approach best illustrated by your comment “For me, this is where psychology begins. Not in abstract theory, but in everyday moments that feel familiar until they are examined more closely.”
And I feel this is what makes your writing relevant and engaging.
I look forward to exploring more of your work as it unfolds here, and observing how this connects with my exploration of psychology through narrative.
Ever curious
Holmes
Thank you, John.
“We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.”
Such a great quote.
Excellent piece on top-down processing. The bit about inattentional blindness really underscores how selective our perception is by default. I noticed this in user testing sessions where participants completely missed obvious UI elements becuase their attention was locked onto a specific task. The confidence-accuracy gap in eyewitness memory is probaby one of the most underappreciated findings in applied psychology, especially in legal contexts.
That’s a great applied example.
So interesting what you say about user testing and such a powerful real-world demonstration of inattentional blindness. When attention is locked onto a goal, even highly salient elements can effectively disappear. From the participant’s point of view, they genuinely weren’t there. That’s what makes it such a striking reminder that perception isn’t about what’s on the screen, but about what the mind is prepared to process.
I’m glad you mentioned the confidence–accuracy gap too. It’s one of those findings that feels counterintuitive until you begin to explore it, and then you start seeing its implications everywhere, especially in legal and investigative settings. Confidence tells us how coherent a memory feels, not how faithful it is.
Thanks for the comment and for connecting the ideas to your own experience.
I read about people that drive home on a familiar route and smash into the back of emergency vehicles.
Looked but did not see ?
I’ve started a psychology degree - so the book is necessary. Right?
That’s a classic example of “looked but did not see.” On familiar routes, driving becomes highly automated, so perception is guided more by expectation than by what’s actually in front of us.
Congratulations on starting your psychology degree. I wouldn’t say any single book is necessary, but if you’re interested in how these ideas show up in everyday life, I hope you’d find mine interesting and worth reading alongside your studies. You might also want to check out my main website https://www.all-about-psychology.com/, lots of free and comprehensive information and resources that you should find useful.