Product Description

In a recent series of ground-breaking psychological experiments, volunteers were shown a 30-second film of some people playing basketball and told to count the number of passes made with the ball. After just a few seconds, a man dressed as a gorilla slowly walked into frame, beat his chest at the camera, and sauntered off. Unbelievably, almost none of the people watching the film noticed the gorilla. Exactly the same psychological mechanisms that cause people to miss the gorilla also make them miss unexpected but vitally important opportunities in their professional and personal lives. This book outlines the scientific evidence and thinking behind this remarkable new phenomenon, and shows you how you can spot gorillas in your life - and what to do when you see one.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4089 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

About the Author
Professor Richard Wiseman has a first-class honours degree in Psychology from University College London, a doctorate from Edinburgh University, and was awarded the prestigious Perrott-Warrick Scholarship from Trinity College Cambridge. He now heads a research unit based within the Psychology Department at the University of Herefordshire. Professor Wiseman's work is frequently featured in the national press, and he has appeared many times on Horizon, Equinox and World in Action, and co-presented BBC1's Out of this World with Carol Vorderman. He has also made regular appearances on BBC1's Tomorrow's World, on which he has carried out several large-scale experiments involving thousands of people.

Customer Reviews

This gorilla is gggrrrreeeaaatttt!
The title of this book on creativity immediately caught my eye. The gorilla is a metaphor for those priceless ideas and opportunities which seem obvious in hindsight, but which most people miss. I have my own company and am always looking for innovative ideas to attract clients and get ahead of the competition. The book is packed full of amusing examples, really eye-catching illustrations, and practical exercises that do a great job of demonstrating how to improve one's gorilla-spotting skills. Unusually, the book is written by an academic rather than a motivational speaker, so it's based on authentic research rather than vague hand-waving. It certainly tickled a few of my creative parts that had not been tickled before! Before reading "gorilla" I was stuck on the problem of how to do an annual promotional mailing round our client list without them filing it straight in the trash can. The book gave me several new ideas for an eye-catching promotion and my only problem now is which one to use. I think this book will be priceless to anyone who's looking for innovative ideas - not only that, it's fun to read too - what more could you ask?!

A new slant on an old theme - exactly what it is all about.
If you understand what is meant by the term, "can't see the woods for the trees" and you have read any books about lateral thinking then you will be as disappointed as I was. Many examples are given of people who have thought laterally but this book calls it "spotted the gorilla" (based on a video demonstrating an interesting psychological phenomenon which has been seen by many internet users.)
In a nutshell, the author tells you to stand back to look at the bigger picture (see the wood rather than the trees) and do some brainstorming without excluding the ridiculous and you may find you improve your observational and problem solving skills.
I found the book an enjoyable and very easy read but with very little content that I had not encountered previously.
If this sort of material is unfamiliar to you, I promise you will enjoy it and it will be worth five stars to you.

Gorilla hunting for beginners
Here is a title to make you stop and think. Based on an experiment where viewers of a video clip are asked to count the number of passes a three-a-side basketball team make, an astonishing 80% fail to see the gorilla-costumed intruder. This can be because we are too focussed - we don't see what we are not looking for. A 'gorilla' is something so blindingly obvious that we fail to see it.

The book is deliberately aimed at the 55-minute audience, those short-haul train or plane travellers, and is expensive on a cost-per-page basis. However, the cost has to be offset against the value it gives to the professional and personal lives of readers. Make no mistake, there is a huge carry-over in applying lessons to business life and home - change your outlook in one and it will almost certainly affect the other.

The volume may be used as a corporate hand-out, and it uses psychological tricks and ploys, with anecdotes of where a 'gorilla' has been found. Many readers could add their own examples, and that can work well in a group context.

A chatty style is not prescriptive, and there are 4 clear lessons to encourage gorilla spotting. One thing that I did find irritating was being asked to write answers in the book. Needless to say I did not do this - it ruins the volume for ever, and means that the pages cannot be revisited in the future. At any rate, not without purchasing an additional copy. The cynic may think that this is to encourage further sales.

Richard Wiseman has written a little gem that should make you stop and think. Perhaps the biggest key to spotting 'gorillas' is to be aware that there are some out there. Go out and look for some. It could change your life.

Peter Morgan, Bath, UK (morganp@supanet.com)