The following post was submitted by Dean Lipson, Partner of Covered Bridge Capital.
Ever hear of the psychological experiment known as the Invisible Gorilla?[1] It goes like this: You’re asked to watch a brief video of a group of people moving randomly about in a pack. Several of these people are wearing white shirts and passing a ball amongst themselves. You’re asked to count the number of passes that occur. During the video, a person dressed as a gorilla enters the middle of the pack and, while facing the camera, thumps his chest for a few seconds then exits. The video ends and you’re asked to give the number of times the ball was passed. Most likely, you get that right. You’re then asked if you saw the gorilla. Huh, what gorilla? Yes, despite being on-screen for 9 seconds, half of all participants in the experiment never see the gorilla.
