Are you observant?

 

Are you observant? Would you make a good detective noticing what people say or do? If you were to witness an incident, a car accident, or a street mugging, would you be able to remember what happened and relate it accurately?

Years ago I tried an experiment to see if people were generally observant.

I was at a business conference. They divided us in groups of 12 people. Each group was sent to a room to discuss a business proposition and after a short period to come back and make a presentation. They were then given more information and they had to go to the room and discuss again and return with their proposal.

All in all, my group of the same 12 people went to the room for discussions about seven times during that day. Discussion, then presentation, then discussions etc. ... seven times.

Each time we went back to our room I hid in the bathroom for a few moments and changed my tie. I had brought about a dozen ties in my briefcase and changed ties at each opportunity ... red one, blue, yellow stripes and so on.

Would you believe it, no one noticed. The same eleven people in my group met in that room seven times, that is seven separate ties, and no one noticed. Or no one said it was a different tie I was wearing.

What would it take for them to notice? I thought.

Should I take my shirt off and come in wearing a flamboyant tie? Would they have noticed then?

Would you have noticed the change of ties had you been there?

Oh Yeah ???

Well, I bet you did not notice that I changed ties six times whilst writing this article and that I am wearing my pyjamas!!!

You're as bad at observing as those people in my group.