In this blog, I've often written about Perception and how our expectations and focus will add or erase details (sometimes as big as a gorilla) from what we "see" in front of us, and what we remember about it later. For example: here and here.
I recently stumbled upon this TedTalks video in which Scott Fraser breaks down the science behind that phenomenon and gives the example of a man he helped free from wrongful imprisonment by showing, with an astonishing level of specific evidence, how the witnesses couldn't have seen what they were 100% certain they had seen--all six witnesses.
A fascinating and frightening statistic he gives: 3/4 of the cases of exoneration--of innocence discovered via DNA evidence after (often long-term) wrongful imprisonment-- were cases based entirely on eyewitness testimony.
Monday, September 10, 2012
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