The Invisible Gorilla

“Succeeds wonderfully … readers who heed [these] admonitions may be rewarded with a clearer view of the world.”—The Wall Street Journal “Fascinating … Chabris and Simons threaten to pull the rug of reality itself out from under us.”—Seed magazine “Engaging … The Invisible Gorilla just might teach us to be more humble, understanding and forgiving.”—The New York Times (Editors’ Choice) “Entertaining and illuminating … a surprising guide to everyday illusions and the trouble they can steer us into.”—Dan Ariely, New York Times bestselling author of Predictably Irrational “Tightly reasoned … With each chapter, the reader’s self- awareness grows.”—Science “Wonderful … a terrific book for anyone who wonders how their mind works.”—Philadelphia Daily News “The illusion of attention is one of the most important, surprising, and least- known flaws in human thinking. This lucid book examines it in great detail.”—Nassim N. Taleb, author of The Black Swan “Persuasive, surprising, even amusing … will have you rethinking the way you see the world.”—Dallas Fort Worth Star- Telegram “Highly illuminating.”—The Guardian (UK) “Fascinating … An owner’s manual for the human mind!”—Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology, Harvard University, and New York Times bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness “An engaging romp through a variety of cognitive illusions … written so well it would make Gladwell envious.”—Psychology Today “Engagingly and persuasively explores the illusions that trick us … a persuasive warning that intuition often fails us.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune “Chabris and Simons use science and anecdotal evidence so effectively … that three days after reading their book I feel confident in saying it has changed my life. I just hope I’m not deluding myself.”—New Scientist “A fascinating look at little-known illusions that greatly affect our daily lives … Bound to have wide popular appeal.”—Kirkus Reviews “Full of humor and insight, this book is enlightening and entertaining… . Readers beware: your perception of everyday occurrences will be forever altered.”—Library Journal “Chabris and Simons’s experiments have become classics, and their influence extends well beyond psychology, with implications for our understanding of consciousness and rationality. Having taught their research to my students at Harvard, I was eager to read The Invisible Gorilla, and the book did not disappoint.”—Steven Pinker, author of How the Mind Works and The Stuff of Thought “A riveting romp across the landscape of our psychological misperceptions… . If any work of social science could be a page- turner, this is it.”—Nicholas A. Christakis, professor, Harvard Medical School, and coauthor of Connected

CHRISTOPHER CHABRIS and DANIEL SIMONS are cognitive psychologists who have each received accolades for their research on a wide range of topics. Their “Gorillas in Our Midst” study reveals the dark side of our ability to pay attention and has quickly become one of the best-known experiments in all of psychology; it inspired a stage play and was even discussed by characters on C.S.I. Chabris, who received his Ph.D. from Harvard, is a psychology professor at Union College in New York. Simons, who received his Ph.D. from Cornell, is a psychology professor at the University of Illinois.