Imagine that you are a pilot trying to land a plane in extreme conditions.

As you breakthrough the cloud ceiling you see the runway.  However, there is a plane sitting right where you are supposed to land!  Would you see it?  A study[1] reported by Dan Simons and Chris Chabris in their book “The Invisible Gorilla” suggests that you might not.

Simons and Chabris’ book makes a simple argument – looking is not seeing.

They would know. They created one of the most famous experiments of all time, “Gorillas in the Midst”.  Most people have seen it.  If you haven’t, take a quick look before proceeding:  https://youtu.be/vJG698U2Mvo.

When asked, most people will tell you that they missed the gorilla because they were so focused on the people passing the ball (or on the ball itself).  That’s partially true.  However, a quick review of the video (at least the original video) shows that the “gorilla” spends most of her time right next to people in white shirts.  In fact, in some cases they reach or pass the ball right around her! One guy almost trips over her while passing the ball.  A follow up study[2] showed that everyone who watches the video looks directly at the gorilla for one second on average (regardless of whether they claim to see it or not). Looking is not seeing.

It’s true the focus plays a role.  But, it’s the source of that focus that matters.

Much of our focus and attention is driven unconsciously. That’s an important thing to understand when working with data.

All of the data that we take in starts in the unconscious part of our brain.  We only become consciously aware of a very small amount of that information.

Because of its design, the unconscious part of our brain doesn’t always filter the data according to what is best for making an objective, rational decision. In other words, the data that you become aware of aren’t always complete or most relevant to the decision.  Worse yet, sometimes the data that you don’t become aware of still get used in making the decision.  This is what we often refer to as hidden bias.  The more data you look at, the more unconscious filtering occurs.

We tend to think that we rationally look through all available data carefully discarding what is irrelevant and focusing on what is relevant.  In fact, the opposite is true.

Our unconscious brain often shapes what data we actually “see” and how we see it. In the case of the Gorilla video, Simons and Chabris hypothesize that one of the reasons people don’t become aware of the gorilla is that it’s not supposed to be there. We don’t expect it. So our brains hide it(at least in about 50% of the people who see the video).

It turns out that our brains don’t like new things.  They prefer the world to look the way it always has.  It’s easier for us to “see” things incorrectly than it is to restructure our existing beliefs based on new data.  Just think about the worst performer on your team or the worst partner you’ve ever had in a relationship.  No matter what they do, it always seems to reinforce your negative view.

It’s true that we can consciously focus on what comes through.  The problem is that if something gets withheld unconsciously we never have the choice as to whether to focus on it consciously.

All of this brings me to a simple mistake that many of make with data.

Many people, when wanting to call attention to a key data point or finding, add information. That information comes in many forms such as color coding (red, yellow, green), boldfacing, underlining, circling, etc.

Adding information actually makes focusing more difficult. It forces more of the processing of the information into the unconscious part of your brain.  It also creates an illusion that you are in control of your (and other’s) attention.  After all, if something is highlighted in red, how can anyone miss it?

Think back to the plane crossing the runway in the experiment.  It was right in the middle of the screen on a heads-up display!  The pilots didn’t miss it because it wasn’t visible enough.  They missed it because there was too much other information for their brains to process.

When presenting data, don’t try to call attention to the data upon which you want people to focus.  Instead, remove any information that you do not want your audience to consider (e.g., focus).  (NOTE: I am NOT suggesting that you “hide” data that don’t support your point. You need to show all data that are relevant to a decision whether they support your recommendation or not. My point is that you should remove any data that are not relevant to the point being made.)

For example, suppose that you are trying to help your audience understand which business units are having performance issues.  Instead of showing a table with all business units and their financial performance color-coded (red, yellow, or green), simply pull out the ones that are in trouble and present them.

Focus is created by narrowing down your field of vision.  However, as humans, our ability to focus consciously is somewhat limited.  Don’t rely on yourself or others to find the right thing.  Instead, get rid of anything that you don’t want in the way.

Brad Kolar is an executive consultant, speaker, and author with Avail Advisors.  Avail’s Rethinking Data workshop can help your leaders learn how to simplify and focus their problems, decisions, data, and communication.  Contact Brad at brad.kolar@availadvisors.com.

[1] E. Fischer, R.F. Haines, and T. A Price, “Cognitive Issues in head-Up Displays,” NASA Technical Paper 1711, 1980 as reported in  Chabris, Christopher F., and Daniel J. Simons. The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us. New York: Crown, 2010. Chapter 1

[2] D. Memmert, “The Effects of Eye Movement, Age, and Expertise on Inattentional Blindness,” Consciousness and Cognition 15 (2006): 620-627 reported in Chabris, Christopher F., and Daniel J. Simons. The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us. New York: Crown, 2010. Chapter 1