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Mishaps of not paying attention

Bats can distinguish two grades of sandpaper whose grains differ by half a millimeter, but will also plow headlong into a newly installed cave door. They can discern flying insects by shape, but will go after a pebble launched into the air. Bats are fully capable of avoiding such errors. They’re just not paying attention. They’re relying on memory and instinct. Humans behave in the same way: Most car accidents occur close to home, in part because drivers are less watchful when going down familiar routes. In both cases, perception is influenced not just by information from sense organs but also by what brains decide to do with that information. Those brains, and their workings, are still mysterious.


 
 
 

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