How did I not see a beholder?

[mmadsen]

While discussing 4E and "Old School Gaming" (and why they aren't mutually exclusive), Korgoth mentioned how happy he was that perception no longer involved a die roll in 4E:

I hate "roll to see things". Why don't we also roll to see if I can walk in a straight line?

Here's why we "roll to see things":

Please watch this video and try to count the total number of times that the people wearing white pass the basketball. (Do not count the passes made by the people wearing black.)

When you're done, go and read this.

Addendum: Do not scroll down until you've watched the video. Seeing the answer will change your experience -- which you don't want. It's eye-opening.

 

[Nikosandros]

That's very nice, I totally failed my perception check!

 

[el-remmen]

Ha! I saw it and figured it was just there to distract me from my counting!

 

[mmadsen]

ExploderWizard asked:

Have there been studies about this that test what perception is like during periods of danger such as a hallway being walked down by people who are "frosty" and in watch mode, expecting that perhaps a fight or flight moment could occur at any moment?

I would think that would have some bearing vs people in thier normal, not in danger lives.

I found a paper by Bruce Siddle on the Effects of Combat Stress. It emphasizes tunnel vision and the loss of near vision and depth perception -- as well as the loss of fine/complex motor control and higher cognitive function.

Swinging a sword at the guy in front of you is pretty straightforward under stress. Aiming a gun is much harder. Pulling out the right spell components in the right order while reciting the right words? Probably very, very hard.

 

[Nikosandros]

Interestingly enough, upon seeing the movie again, I realized that when it appeared I almost lost the count... so, in some subconscious way my brain had somehow detected it...

 

[Umbran]

Okay, I made my perception check, but only just barely. Very interesting stuff.

 

[ExploderWizard]

ExploderWizard asked: I found a paper by Bruce Siddle on the Effects of Combat Stress. It emphasizes tunnel vision and the loss of near vision and depth perception -- as well as the loss of fine/complex motor control and higher cognitive function.

Swinging a sword at the guy in front of you is pretty straightforward under stress. Aiming a gun is much harder. Pulling out the right spell components in the right order while reciting the right words? Probably very, very hard.

Cool article. I will have to read it in depth when there is more time.

 

[Janx]

actually, my read of the article confirms what I suspected, and why you don't need to roll for seeing a beholder.

taking the article as fact, here's the summary:
IF the brain is directed to perform a task (like counting passes) , the brain will miss obvious things (like a gorilla), because it is hyper-focussed and is filtering out any input that isn't the target.

IF the brain is operating under normal circumstances, the brain will easily spot the gorilla. Thereby defeating the OP's argument.

Exploring a dungeon falls into the normal circumstance. The brain is not looking for anything hyper-specific, and thus generally sees obvious threats.

A hallmark of bad GMing is having the party enter the room, rattle off descriptions of all the furniture in the room, start counting treasure, and halfway through, tell them the dragon standing in the back breathes fire on them.


Therefore, unless the gorilla (or dragon) is hiding, it is most likely the first thing the party will notice. The party will know the types of furniture in the room (bed in the corner). The party may see a pile of treasure, but won't identify anything specific (just treasure pile on the side).

The video is a playing on a trick of the brain, by getting the brain into a special mode. Exploring a dungeon is NOT going to induce that effect.

If something's hiding, it should get a Hide roll (opposed if applicable). Being in shadow, partly obscured, not moving, it'll be harder to see. Especially if it's trying to not be seen.


What the brain also sucks at is remembering details, especially if the observer hasn't been practicing observation skills (police officers work hard at this skill). Oddly enough, trying hard to remember details will probably put the brain into the special mode, and the observer could miss the gorilla.

So, to sum up, I disagree with the OP. His article reference proves my point.

 

[darjr]

So I watched it first. Then I went back and tried to count.

Try it. It's actually very interesting the gaps you'll have of the most striking change.

 

[Voadam]

I'm not sure I see your point as it relates to gaming.