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Mind Tricks: The Real Reason Things Hide In Plain Sight

It happened, you just missed it.

Have you ever been watching something so intently that you're shocked to find out you missed something? Believe it or not, it happens. And a lot more often than you'd expect.

In the video above by DNews, host Sapna Parikh explains why we sometimes struggle to see things that are right in front of our very own eyes.

As Parikh says, in 1999 Harvard scientists first noted our brains have the ability to ignore images and actions while they are focused on something else.

To test their theory, the scientists told students to watch a basketball game and to pay attention to how many times the white team passed the ball. During the game a man in a gorilla costume came on to the court and beat his chest, but only half of the students saw him.

The scientists chalked it up to a condition called inattentional blindness, which basically means your brain is concentrating so hard it fails to see other things that may be occurring.

Watch the video above to learn more about how your mind manages to override your vision.

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