Last week, I read a fascinating article on the art of observation which detailed the story of a seminar in Germany where forty people in an auditorium witnessed a staged event—part of a scientific study—and then submitted staggeringly different accounts of the event only minutes later.
Of the forty people, only one person turned in an account that had fewer than 20 percent errors. Twenty-five people had more than 40 percent errors, and more than 20 accounts included details that never happened during the event. In short, the people in that room proved miserable at being observant.
