Change Blindness and the Perfect Mystery

by Julia Buckley

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In this interesting little video produced by NOVA, it is demonstrated that people with "change blindness" don't notice a major difference in something right in front of their eyes.

This reminded me of many mysteries I've read in which characters (and, consequently, the readers) miss the fact that one character is eventually represented by someone else, and no one is meant to notice the difference, because therein lies the secret to the mystery. Agatha Christie did it more than once; I also recall a wonderful Mary Stewart novel which used the same sleight of hand.

Further, I thought of some more modern writers who have used this technique, but I won't name them for fear that I will be spoiling their plotting.

But is "change blindness" a real phenomenon? Or did this little set-up create a too-unrealistic situation?

Would you, for example, fall for the same thing?

Try taking this test:

My favorite part of the sleight of hand technique (or "change blindness, if you like) is that it makes the eventual solution so inevitable that the reader says "How didn't I see that before?"

Exactly!!

Have you used this in your writing?

What's the last thing you didn't recognize that was right in front of your nose?