Why We Make Mistakes: Post #2--We Miss a Lot

We Miss a Lot: When viewing a robbery, women notice details about the victim but not about the robber. Men do just the opposite. Right handed people move to the right when going into a building. So, the shortest lines are always on the left side of any registration desk or ticket purchasing venue. Our eyes have a very narrow range of clear focus, so we skim a lot and we miss a lot. If you rarely see something, you find it difficult to find. That’s why both baggage inspectors and radiologists sometimes make mistakes. One study showed that baggage screeners missed 25% of the guns they were looking for. And, another study showed radiologists missed 30% of cancerous tumors that were visible in retrospect.