Did You Spot the Gorilla? - Richard Wiseman

"DID YOU SPOT THE GORILLA?"


"Did you spot the gorilla" is a clever little book designed to help you recognise hidden opportunities in your life. It is based on a psychological study which makes it both fascinating and inspiring, and will most likely help you keep an open mind and spot many gorillas around you.

Why gorillas, you must be wondering?
Gorillas in fact are a metaphor for the obvious ...
...
The title of the books comes from an experiment where volunteers were asked to watch a 30-second film in which some people are playing basketball. The volunteers had to count the number of passes. However, halfway through the film, a man in a gorilla suits walks in, wanders around the players and walks off. Surprisingly, very few people noticed the gorilla. Had they just watched the film with no instructions, they would have spotted it right ... more

"DID YOU SPOT THE GORILLA?"

"Did you spot the gorilla" is a clever little book designed to help you recognise hidden opportunities in your life. It is based on a psychological study which makes it both fascinating and inspiring, and will most likely help you keep an open mind and spot many gorillas around you.

Why gorillas, you must be wondering?
Gorillas in fact are a metaphor for the obvious opportunities that constantly pass us by. Let me explain.

The title of the books comes from an experiment where volunteers were asked to watch a 30-second film in which some people are playing basketball. The volunteers had to count the number of passes. However, halfway through the film, a man in a gorilla suits walks in, wanders around the players and walks off. Surprisingly, very few people noticed the gorilla. Had they just watched the film with no instructions, they would have spotted it right away, but as they were focusing on something else, they missed the most peculiar thing happen right in front of them.

"Did you spot the gorilla?" will teach you how to stop missing the obvious and how to maximise the opportunities in your life.

The book is divided into 4 main chapters.

Chapter 1: The Primed Mind, highlights the importance of keeping a primed mind and open eyes at all times. If you are stuck with a problem, and can't find a solution, stop focussing so much on it and give it time. If you keep your mind open though, you might find your answer in the most unexpected ways.

This is for example, how the Christmas cracker was invented. I won't say more, so read the book to find out!

Chapter 2: the Power of Perspective, explains how vital it is to look at problems from different angles and be original and new in your approach.

I found this chapter to be one of the most interesting ones . It is very true that when faced with a problem, sometimes the answer is right there but we miss it because we look at it the wrong way. This chapter will give you helpful ideas on how to solve issues and be more creative.

Chapter 3: Playful Matters, will teach you that by being relaxed and playful, you are most likely not to miss any gorillas around you! You will discover how this led to many discoveries and inventions, such as the Frisbee.

Chapter 4: Time to wake up explains how routine and automatisms can make you miss what is right in front of you. It encourages you to be curious and look into things. Who knows what you might find out then?

The book is very easy to read and so enjoyable you probably will read it in one go. It is packed with example of discoveries that were made in the most creative and original ways (I only gave a few to give you a general idea but there are many more), as well as anecdotes, puzzles, quizzes, exercises to help you understand how to put all this into practice.
Everything is quickly read and done, and so well put-together, that when you put it down, you will feel like you have gained so much.

At the end of each chapter, you will find a story (about a couple of pages long) about Lucy and Oliver, two office workers that try to apply the book principles to help them in their job and other daily life problems.
Although I don't work in an office, I thought this was quite good at making the book ideas more concrete and relevant to you.

I must say, I "stole" the book from my boyfriend, and didn't know what to expect. I don't normally read this sort of books but this one really stands out. It is genuinely fascinating and can be applied to all areas of your life, whether you're facing a problem at work, looking for the next greatest invention, solving a puzzle, or trying to make your life easier in any way.
It only takes an hour or two at most to read, but I have read it many times as it is actually funny, entertaining and mind-opening at the same time.

"Did you spot the gorilla?" was written by Richard Wiseman, a professor and head of a unit in a psychology department. It costs between £6 and £7 but I can assure you that this is a good investment.

So do not any longer and learn how to spot gorillas! You'll be amazed at what else you may spot...

 

...less