Perception

Change Blindness

Change Blindness consists of a screen projection of a typical street scene that blinks momentarily and reappears after making a single change in the picture, such as removal of a parking meter.

Visitors are challenged to identify the change but usually can’t unless their attention is focused on the part of the image that changes. Sudden changes to a scene usually attract attention, but when the blink interrupts the whole scene, it prevents any changes from being noticed. Without the blinks the changes are obvious.