The Art of Monkey Business 🙈

Earlier this week, I got the results I didn’t want to see: I tested positive for Covid.

It’s definitely thrown me off my game. I’ve had headaches, fatigue, muscle soreness, coughing, and just a general brain fog and lack of clarity.

In essence, it’s made it hard to focus. And I feel like I’ve missed some things.

I’m not entirely sure why, but this combination of events made me think of the selective attention test from Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris.

You may have seen this test—it is “world famous” according to the description—but I hope you’ll still give it a watch.

This test is designed to teach us a lesson about selective attention. We’re so busy counting how many passes the team in white is throwing, we miss other things that are going on.

What you probably didn’t miss, though, is how awkward all of these people look dribbling and passing a basketball.

To be fair, none of them are in athletic gear, they’re trying to avoid running into five other people, and they’re playing in front of a pair of elevators. I might look kind of uncomfortable in that situation, too.

What I like about this test is it’s got a sequel with a better twist than The Avengers (or whatever your favorite Marvel movie is, I haven’t seen most of them, including The Avengers).

After watching the first video, you have a sense of what to expect. But the second video gets you with a little sneakiness.

Or maybe you paid closer attention. Either way, I’m proud of you.