Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated

Inattentional Blindness

The failure to cognitively process a stimulus that is presented in clear view, leaving the observer without any awareness or memory of the stimulus.1

When focused on performing a task, observers are often blind to stimuli that are literally presented right before their eyes. For example, in 1972, an Eastern Airlines cockpit crew noticed that a landing gear indicator failed to light. They became so fixated on the cause that they failed to notice their loss in altitude or respond to ground alarms. The resulting crash killed more than 100 people. In 2001, a submarine commander looked through the periscope and saw no nearby ships. He ordered the submarine to rapidly surface and unwittingly crashed into another ship directly ...