83 per cent of radiologists can’t see a gorilla in this CT scan
CAN you see the gorilla? CBS news reports that 83 per cent of radiologists didn’t see the beast.
The 24 qualified radiologists were given lung CT scans, which each had about 10 nodules (abnormal spots), and were asked to find anything strange on the scans. On the last one, the dancing gorilla – about 48 times the size of an average nodule – was placed in the scan. The radiologists found the correct nodules 55 per cent of the time. But only 20 of them saw the gorilla, despite scrolling past it 4.3 times, on average.
This is called “inattentional blindness”. You see only what you are looking for.
When we first read that, we read institutional blindness. But that’s something else. That’s when, say, medics stuff up your life with misdiagnoses and bad treatment and then explain it as in a failure of the “system“…
Spotter: Winker
Posted: 14th, February 2013 | In: Technology Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
