Dr. B – Have you ever heard of inattentive blindness?
Parent – Huh?
Dr. B – Have you ever seen the Gorilla Test on YouTube?
Parent – You lost me with the word inattentive.
Dr. B – That test where you are asked to count the number of ball passes, while a gorilla appears unannounced.
Parent – Oh, I remember that. I totally didn’t see the gorilla.
Dr. B – Ever wonder why?
Parent – I got the number of basketball passes correct.
Dr. B – But totally missed the gorilla.
Parent – Yeah.
Dr. B – Don’t worry. Half of everybody who watches that video misses the gorilla. Regardless of how smart they are.
Parent – Whew! So if it isn’t intelligence, what is it?
Dr. B – Just because your eyes see something, that doesn’t mean your brain does.
Parent – So, just because you hear something, doesn’t mean you understand?
Dr. B – Not exactly. Let me give you an example. You ride your bike to work. Ever have a driver pull out in front of you?
Parent – Yeah. If I can see them, they should be able to see me. Pisses me off.
Dr. B – Chances are, they pulled out in front of you because they didn’t see you.
Parent – In broad daylight?
Dr. B – Yeah. Just like you failed to see the gorilla.
Parent – How come?
Dr. B – They weren’t expecting to see you. Just like you didn’t expect a gorilla.
Parent – So, not everything we see registers in our brain?
Dr. B – I guess you could say that.
Parent – I always tell my kids to assume cars won’t see them on their bikes.
Dr. B – Good for you. And now you have the science to back you up.
Parent – What’s this inattentive blindness got to do with parenting?
Dr. B – Well, what do you suppose kids with undeveloped brains do with incomplete information?
Parent – Jump to the wrong conclusions?
Dr. B – Yep.
Parent – It’s kind of like depending on Facebook for understanding your world?
Dr. B – Ha. I like that.
