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Health

There’s Something Hidden in This CT Scan That Not Even Most Radiologists Can Spot — Can You?

Feb. 13, 2013 8:47am Liz Klimas

Radiologists Looking for Nodules in CT Scan Miss Dancing Gorilla Showing Perceptual Blindness

(Image: Trafton Drew, Melissa Vo, Jeremy Wolfe/Psychological Science via CBS News)

What do you see in this CT scan above? Seems to be a cross-section of a set of lungs, but is there anything else?

[Don't cheat by reading on too soon.]

Still stumped?

Well, here’s the explanation: The infamous “invisible gorilla” test conducted by psychologists Dan Simons and Christopher Chabris in 1999 has now been similarly tested on radiologists to see if they would notice anything strange in scans to which they’re frequently exposed.

More than 24 experts were asked to evaluate five different scans and in the final scan was a dancing gorilla 48 times larger than the average potentially cancerous nodule they might be looking for, according to CBS News. And many still missed it.

CBS reported that 20 out of the 24 credentialed radiologists were unable to spot the gorilla. The research by Harvard University post-doctoral fellow Trafton Drew, which will be published in the journal Psychological Science, even monitored eye movements of the radiologists and found they spent about 5.8 seconds looking the CT scan with the gorilla. Twelve of the radiologists who missed it actually looked right at it.

On the flip side, those with no medical expertise were asked to look at the scans. None of these people spotted the gorilla. Other non-experts were told to announce if they saw a gorilla specifically — so they had prior knowledge that it might be in there. This group was able to spot the gorilla 88 percent of the time, CBS reported.

According to the Association for Psychological Science’s Wray Herbert, the study raises a “disturbing possibility” that experts might have “perceptual blindness.”

“They wanted to see if the radiologists, focused on the telltale nodules, would be blind to the easily detectable and highly anomalous gorilla,” Psychological Science noted.

Although the radiologists proved better off in spotting the gorilla — and nodules — than non-experts, Herbert said this is a “small comfort that the experts outperformed the average man on the street.”

“But there is no way around the main finding, which is that 83 percent of these highly trained physicians missed what might have been a life-threatening anomaly,” Herbert wrote.

If you are unfamiliar with the invisible gorilla test, try it out in this video (although since you know ahead of time it might not work as well):

(H/T: Daily Mail)

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Comments (91)

woodyee
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:07am
Did anyone spot Waldo?

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Gargent_Furball
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:58am
This is so fascinating it blows my mind. I can hardly believe it.

I think I will just get up from this computer and rush to the sink for a glass of water .

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yiska8
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:54am
Yet another reason why no one has cured anything. Not since the polio vaccine and that only prevented it, it didn’t cure it. I spotted the strange gorilla shape, but thought my mind was just looking for patterns.

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- cordovamx
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:02am
  lol – you sure about that? Do you realize how many diseases have been eradicated since Polio? Do you realize the literal abundance and near uncountable number of medical technologies that have advanced tremendously since the 50′s and 60′s? Of course you were able to spot it easily – you probably don’t know anything about what you are looking at – physicians go through a litany of of mental lists when evaluating something such as this. They are looking for pathologies – nodules, cancers, etc. and not a picture of a gorilla. I guarantee you that 99.9% of the physicians shown this exact same CT with a cancerous lesion would spot the lesion – because that’s what they are looking for.
  
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- Rowgue
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 12:05pm
  I’m sure most people spotted it. You spotted it because they told you ahead of time there was something strange in it that people were missing.
  
  I think this is much ado about nothing myself though. The radiologists were being tested on how well they were able to detect TUMORS. They weren’t looking for a gorilla logo, and even if they saw it why would they report it. The person obviously doesn’t have a tiny gorilla inside their lung, they would just assume it was some kind of goofy watermark or something.
  
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- yiska8
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:33pm
  @cordo
  Yeah technology has moved at the speed of light. I wasn’t talking about technologies. I’m talking about cures. How the hell can we be so advanced and cure nothing? Foundations, institutes, charity events research,etc…. and the trillions raised at this point, but no cure for anything. The only thing that has advanced is the field of “disease management”. Sure doctors go through years of school and education, and this little experiment is void because they didn’t know to look for a little gorilla. What’s scary is when such “highly trained” geniuses don’t find what they ARE trained to look for. But with Obamacare taking over, will it matter? A bureaucrat will decide. Please, unless you’ve lived and seen how the system works, don’t patronize. Surgery doesn’t fix everything. And neither do all vaccines.Big Pharma doesn’t fix anything.but so long as the profit margins are made in the field of “disease management” then it’s deemed a success financially. Then,the FDA pulls the drug it hailed as “revolutionary” and guess what? No cure, only more suffering. I won’t even get into medical errors. So yeah, since the 50′s and 60′s technology has changed, but the cures are still not there. And a lot of people have become very wealthy off the suffering of others.
  
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00100111
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:39am
This is too scary! The govt should pass a law banning gorillas in lungs! ZOMG, It5 too skurry! It must be banz0red!

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Warphead
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:39am
Indisputable proof that this patient has been sniffing “Gorilla” glue.
When x-rays were taken of Che Guevara, Pol Pot, Mao Tse-Tung, and Fidel Castro what similarity was found in all of them?
In each x-ray a guerrilla was found.

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caleejr
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:36am
Cracks me up how people complain about the article being ‘stupid’ – if that’s the case, what does that make the person who commented, as they not only Read the article, but took the time to comment on it.

Personally, I found it entertaining (almost as much as the comments of some of the ‘haters’), as well as informative.

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- Warphead
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:00am
  It isn’t so stupid when you go back six months later and the doctor tells you “I’m so sorry, If we had just seen this 6 months ago there might be something we could do.”
  
  Report this comment
- encinom
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:13am
  This test also proves why eye witness testimony may not be true, wven if the witness is being honest.
  
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- dblaess
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 6:45pm
  @encinom
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:13am
  This test also proves why eye witness testimony may not be true, wven if the witness is being honest.
  ———————————————————————–
  Your comment makes me wonder how much credit to give to any witness at Mr. Zimmermann’s upcoming trial. Perhaps the witness testimony should be thrown out and the jury can go by testimony from Mr. Zimmerman and Mr. Martin as to what happened.
  
  Report this comment
YallComeBack
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:34am
Sorry…. This is an idiot story.

For the Dr.s to have “missed” the gorilla, a couple of things MUST be true for this to be valid.
1. The Dr. would have HAD to think the gorilla was indeed a part of this human body.
2. The Dr. would have HAD to think the gorilla was a valid part of the Xray and not some contrivance ADDED to the Xray (which is WAS added by the researcher).

I think that for almost ALL Drs reading this, that person might notice the gorilla and thought- who the cr@p put that on there?

If it were really inside a lung, would it:
–be deeply embedded in lung tissue, or stuck in an airway?
–have that full coloration? When I look at it, it looks fake- like someone photoshopped a gorilla onto it.

This study proves absolutely NOTHING- other than few self-respecting doctors are fooled by something so stupid looking.

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- ThreefingeredGus
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:51am
  Congrats on giving liberals the example they need to prove how dumb blaze readers can be
  
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- Warphead
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:13am
  I agree. The test should be of something that the doctor should be looking for and not something he would dismiss like the image of a gorilla superimposed over the x-ray. Previous x-rays of patients who indeed were found to have cancer should be used. When I saw the gorilla I assumed it was too obvious and probably had something to do with the film processor name, company logo or whatever. I then began to refocus on the actual lung. This test is bogus as it introduces something that a doctor would and should not look for when viewing an x-ray. It was obvious that the gorilla was placed on the film after the x-ray was performed. had a tiny plastic gorilla was placed inside a human lung and an x-ray taken and examined, it would be pointed out immediately by at least 98% of doctors and technicians.This test equates to being told to go into the hen house to find the fox that has been eating the chickens. Upon entering the hen house you find a picture hanging on the wall of a bear. A logical report would be that the fox was not there, and by the way, who hung the picture of a bear in the hen house and why.
  
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- EgoLacuna
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:13am
  @Yallow
  
  I would love to see a CT scan on you. I’ll bet your head is packed full of plastic gorillas.
  
  Report this comment
- txannie
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:27am
  You completely missed the point of the article. Hopefully, you will never need a radiologist to read a ct on you and not miss the tiny little nodule that will be too late to remove by the time someone finally sees it.
  
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beenaround
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:34am
Since a lot of imaging is sent overseas to be read -India, Philippines etc – I’m surprised they recognized it as a set of lungs. Better get used to this type of crappy medicine. obamacare will force more of this “back office” diagnostics offshore.

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dont_drive_slow_in_the_left_lane_obliviot
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:25am
i saw it without cheating, several people here saw it presumably without cheating, but they say no untrained people saw it? i think this is a bogus report.

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- 00100111
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:37am
  I think it’s just to get you to read the story, try to find it, then think to yourself “Oh, I must be special because I DID find it. Yay me!”
  
  Report this comment
- Warphead
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:55am
  I do too. I saw it immediately. It caught my attention because at first glance it looked like a swastika. I whole heatedly agree with your username message. Though sadly it won’t do any good. I mean, if every time they drive there is one car after another sitting on their bumper, they constantly get the 1 finger salute, horns blowing, every now and then a ticket, getting a$$ packed by another driver every month, people pulling in front of them and motioning for them to move over and still they can’t understand what is wrong. Little good a sign will do. Those signs on the side of the road that read “Slower Traffic Keep Right” well they’re just one big mystery in which they never remember to find out what they mean. If the cops out there would start doing their job and writing these idiots tickets the roads would be much safer and road rage incidents would dramatically drop. Our speed limits are already set deliberately low to accommodate the elderly and slower thinking among us. Try driving in the Philippines. You either move or wind up in a ditch, beaten or both. If you’ve ever wanted to drive flat-out everywhere then that is the place to go. It is not for the faint of heart. Oh, the elderly and slow thinking people. They don’t drive, they take a jeep-nee.
  
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Mike Benton
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:14am
The writer did not tell us where the gorilla is….?

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- Deb C
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:29am
  Itsa… Itsa… Itsa…G-(orilla)spot – question is…who’s
  
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moreteaplease
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:48am
The gorilla was the first thing I noticed and I was asking myself ” how could that have ended up in someone’s lung?! “…until I started reading the article.

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- Mojoron
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:05am
  This one stupid article. For one thing the picture above is but one slice of a CT scan. If you look at the whole scan and compare each slice it would be easier to diagnose a problem. I can’t see anything in the slice above and although I know a little about xray’s and CT’s, I would have to look at the entire scan in order to determine IF there was a problem. Doctors who diagnose from CT’s are already certain that there is some pathology otherwise the CT wouldn’t be ordered. Typically a routine xray is done first and then the CT is done second, unless the patient is an emergency trauma in the ER. If you were really interested in getting a minority opinion of the CT above, then put the whole thing on the Blaze.
  
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- lulu229
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:35am
  Same here, and I also saw the one in the video…
  
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- G-WHIZ
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:45am
  i see an eye-slot and a mouth onthe left lower-center of central-mass between the lungs…I do not see a gorrilla
  
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- TreeTrimmerJim
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:52am
  Using tests of this nature will separate the natural characteristics of people for doing certain jobs.
  
  People who do production inspections are great at looking for difference, things that don’t fit with their surroundings.
  
  Some people only see what they are looking for.
  
  Its the lady or witch picture.
  
  Report this comment
Melika
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:42am
Another STUPID article. This belongs on Yahoo! & I saw it right away. With that said, I’ll expound on the content.

OMFG, I hate these stupid “studies” by brainless morons. These a-holes aren’t even close to being neurologists and they certainly don’t understand the brain. Radiologists are trained to look for very small nodules. After viewing thousands of scans, the brain gets trained to discard ANYTHING that is unimportant. To use a posters example, it’s like driving the same road every day. The only things important to your brain are road hazards and other dangers. You certainly may not notice someone’s new, obvious mailbox on their house, unless you used the old one as a marker.

Now, if these creeps used actual scans that included tumors to see what the success rate was, then that is something of interest to the medical field. This is a stupid gimmick to scare people, when in fact these professionals have highly trained brains that are working properly to process an unbelievable amount of information within fractions of a second.

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- CowboyExpat
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:48am
  Well said….I do this type of stuff everyday. I’m trained to detect the abnormal. Saw the gorilla right off.
  
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- IndyGuy
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:48am
  Wouldn’t a little gorilla in the lung be important???
  
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- Lotus503
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:58am
  And a dancing one at that…
  
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a_lady_patriot
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:41am
It explains what is happeing to people in thsi country – They are focussed on their own details and can’t see the whole picture. Our government uses pschycology on us al the time.

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- Stoic one
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:22am
  Excellent point!
  
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The_Cabrito_Goat
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:40am
The blaze, how can I find something a bunch of other radiologist can’t?

I’m not Gregory House M.D. here

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- Warphead
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:21am
  Gregory House is not a real doctor and thank God you aren’t either. Seriously, does the gorilla have to bite the end of your finger before see it. I’ll give you a clue. It’s the only gorilla on the film.
  
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malbro
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:39am
Slow news day bro’s…………..

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Suzanne Winter
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:37am
That gorilla was the very first thing I noticed! How could anyone overlook it? Obamacare has really lowered the standards for those wanting a career in health care. Those “training schools” advertised on TV, ad nauseum, are cranking out low-quality radiologists, but hey, those schools are all getting free money for every seat they fill, right? We’re paying for a whole new crop of substandard radiologists via all things Obamacare. Get a second and third opinion on your x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs, folks. These fools may very well overlook your gorilla, too.

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- Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:44am
  If you’re staring at scans of lung cross sections every hour of every day for weeks and months, you’d start missing the “gorillas” in the picture too. We need more computer aided image analysis to bring the organic Mk. I eyeballs only to the things that the computer can’t conclusively rule out at health tissue.
  
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- dogdr
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:57am
  Good catch there Suzanne. Everything wrong with the world and especially the medical profession is the fault of Obamacare. Do you think before you complain or just automatically go to Obama? It is an exercise demonstrating the brains ability to ignore things that are not expected. It is a well known phenomena. Of course it is all about Obamacare and those lousy doctors that got into medicine because of it. Do you have any idea what it takes to be a radiologist? College, Medical school, an internship, an residency… About 12-14 years minimum. Obamacare isn’t even in full effect yet and you are blaming it on that? I guess all those incompetent doctors in 1999 when Clinton was president just knew Obamacare was coming so they didn’t have to be any good at anything. After all, it is all about money. Those “TV schools” cranking out low quality radiologists? WHAT are you talking about. Please just give it up. Every problem in the world is not Obama’s fault. I know your lack of education isn’t- that is your own fault.
  
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Darth Matter
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:35am
This has to be a joke. That’s the first thing I noticed in the picture. I don’t believe anyone could miss that. Either that or this isn’t the actual image the radiologists were shown.

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oceandove
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:33am
How could anyone miss this? It jumped right out, to me.

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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:33am
I got it right off. The matter of the radiologists is as with most of us to some degree or another, its called the forest before the trees’/trees before the forest.

We become so accustomed to our normal surroundings that we tend to focus upon what we expect to see, not what may have intruded. Consider this example: you have a particular room or area of a room set up where its best for your way of life and comfort. When a new item is added into it by another person, you may suspect something is out of place but not see the new item right off.

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OlefromMN
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:22am
And here I was just looking at the alien in the center of it.

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- JGraham III
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:28am
  Me too. Then I realized this was an alien-monkey brain and concluded that it had to belong to a liberal atheist…
  
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Zoe
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:19am
It’s the Magilla Gorilla Show!

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IndyGuy
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:12am
“”There’s Something Hidden in This CT Scan That Not Even Most Radiologists Can Spot”"

Most Radiologists need to see an Ophthalmologist…

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Milkmom
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:06am
I saw it straight away… ??? I have a really hard time believing that a radiologist can miss that.. very disturbing if true though.
I did miss the gorilla in the video though, lol.

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- pagraywolf
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 9:22am
  I saw both immediately. I wonder if the radiologists missing it is due to repetition. Think of driving the same route to work for 5 years. You’re on autopilot. You know the route, so you’re only looking for what you need to achieve your goal – get to work safely. Radiologists are only looking for medical abnormalities, not goofy tricks.
  
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MGrilla
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 8:59am
My son has selective hearing .

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- Minarchian
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 10:10am
  My wife claims I do.
  
  But after 25 years what does she know!?!?
  
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SCTiger
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 8:58am
I have a hard time believing any one could miss that gorilla, in the image or the video.

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