Several years ago an experiment was conducted at Harvard University to assess the cognitive abilities of some of the brightest students in America. The study was performed by two psychologists who tested the possibility that we are aware of far less of our worlds than we think.
At the Institute for Business and Technology (IBT) where we serve Silicon Valley and Bay Area students we tend to think our student body is pretty bright too, so we encourage you to try The Monkey Business Illusion here:
In this experiment a number of seemingly noticeable (and outrageous) occurrences go unnoticed to many people, things like…
- The massive gorilla that walks through the middle of the game (missed by approximately half of the participants).
- The curtain that changes color (missed by about 75% of participants).
- The player that is taken out of the game (missed by about 75% of participants).
So what do we think the point of this is, and how does it affect IBT students?
- The take home message is this: we can easily miss what is right in front of us. The implication of being aware of the things we have noticed, and not the things we’ve missed is that we are left with the assumption we always notice things.
- Harnessing the assumption that you notice everything when you don’t is more than problematic when it comes to fights with your boo/bae/babe. At IBT we think it’s important when it comes to learning! We want our students to know that even when they’re paying attention, it’s possible to miss important information.
So what do we suggest?
Learning is a process, and it is impossible to absorb everything that’s important on your first try. In The Monkey Business Illusion the majority of us absorb only a small fraction of the events. This same logic applies in the classroom, reminding us that we must rely on more than our memory of lecture – by consulting your notes, engaging in peer study, asking questions, and reading the texts you will gain a more complete understanding of the content, perform better on exams, and hopefully land that dream job after graduation!
