Even notice how some little bump in the night will grab your attention? Even when you don’t really want it to?
There are times when the evolution of our brains work directly against us. And this flaw can work to the advantage of the nefarious set.
The “superior colliculus” (yes, well, I didn’t name it) developed to keep us safe from saber-tooth tigers. The well developed ones belonged to our ancestors. The proof is that you are here reading this and I am here writing it.
Picture this. Our great cave foredaddies and foremamas would step into a clearing of some sort. They would hear a rustling in the brush at the edge of the clearing. What would they have to know about that sound? It was pretty simple. They would have to know if the sound was caused by something they ate; or if it was made by something that ate them.
The aforementioned part of the brain jumped into gear at the onset of that sound and focused attention on it. The decision that needed to be made then was also pretty simple.
Should they stand and fight or turn tail and run like hell?
Wouldn’t it be nice if things were still so simple?
The same thing happens when you feel something brushes up against you. Or against your the hairs on your body. Think about some time when you felt this little twitch in the hair on your head. Chances are you started slapping at your head because you know damn well there is a bug in there.
When we hear an unusual sound, see something that doesn’t quite fit in the normal scheme of things, or if there is an unexpected bump, our attention goes immediately to that spot.
And we have little control over it.
It can be our nightmare and the pickpocket or the grifter’s dream. They rely heavily on the idea of misdirection.
You are walking down the street and someone, seemingly innocently, bumps into you. While your superior colliculus draws your attention to the spot of the bump they, or their confederate, snatch the wallet out of your pocket, or your purse. It is such an automatic brain reaction it is virtually impossible to avoid.
Magicians
