Christopher Chabris

Chris received his A.B. in computer science and his Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University, where he was also a Lecturer and Research Associate for many years. He did postdoctoral work in brain imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is now Associate Professor of Psychology and co-director of the Neuroscience Program at Union College in Schenectady, New York, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Neurology at Albany Medical College. His research focuses on three main areas: collective intelligence in human groups; individual differences in thinking and decision-making; and how cognitive illusions affect our lives. He has published papers on a diverse array of topics, including human intelligence, beauty and the brain, face recognition, the Mozart effect, behavioral genetics, group performance, intertemporal choice, chess expertise, and visual cognition. Chris's work has appeared in leading journals, and it has been covered in major media outlets worldwide. Chris has spoken to audiences at PopTech, Google, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble, government agencies, and elsewhere. Chris is a chess master, poker amateur, and games enthusiast; he writes the monthly "Game On" column in The Wall Street Journal. He also contributes occasionally to The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Slate, and other national publications.

Daniel Simons

Dan received his B.A. in Psychology and Cognitive Science from Carleton College and his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Cornell University. He spent five years on the faculty at Harvard University before moving to Illinois in 2002. He is now a Professor in the Departments of Psychology, Advertising, and Business Administration at the University of Illinois. His scholarly 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. He has published papers on an array of topics including the limits of visual awareness, change blindness, inattentional blindness, driving and distraction, overconfidence, "brain training," among others. His work is published in top scientific journals and is discussed regularly in the popular media. His studies and demonstrations have been exhibited in more than a dozen science museums worldwide. He speaks regularly to companies, trade organizations, and government agencies, and he contributes occasionally to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and other national publications. In his spare time, he enjoys juggling, running, bridge, and chess.

Reading this book will make you less sure of yourself-and that's a good thing. In The Invisible Gorilla, we use a wide assortment of stories and counterintuitive scientific findings to reveal an important truth: Our minds don't work the way we think they do. We think we see ourselves and the world as they really are, but we're actually missing a whole lot.

We combine the work of other researchers with our own findings on attention, perception, memory, and reasoning to reveal how faulty intuitions often get us into trouble. In the process, we explain:

Why a company would spend billions to launch a product that its own analysts know will fail

How a police officer could run right past a brutal assault without seeing it

Why award-winning movies are full of editing mistakes

What criminals have in common with chess masters

Why measles and other childhood diseases are making a comeback

Why money managers could learn a lot from weather forecasters

Again and again, we think we experience and understand the world as it is, but our thoughts are beset by everyday illusions. We write traffic laws and build criminal cases on the assumption that people will notice when something unusual happens right in front of them. We're sure we know where we were on 9/11, falsely believing that vivid memories are seared into our mind with perfect fidelity. And as a society, we spend billions on devices to train our brains because we're continually tempted by the lure of quick fixes and effortless self-improvement.

The Invisible Gorilla reveals the numerous ways that our intuitions can deceive us, but it's more than a catalog of human failings. In the book, we also explain why people succumb to these everyday illusions and what we can do to inoculate ourselves against their effects. In short, we try to give you a sort of "x-ray vision" into your own minds, with the ultimate goal of helping you notice the invisible gorillas in your own life.