Gorilla in the Room

Last week our children's computer was stolen. Someone simply walked through the door, unhooked the computer from the monitor and idly sauntered out the front door. Our security cameras were not aimed at the children's computers and no one on the staff remembers seeing anyone walking out with a computer.

I believe that we at the library get so used to people walking in and out of the door, carrying things, talking, asking for things etc that it would be simple if someone acted casual and simply walked out of the door like he owned the computer. Patrons would simply think he was a tech person and ignore the situation. Society gets so used to ignoring the scene around them that it takes some highly unusual disturbance to shake them out of their day to day goings on. And sometimes even that is not enough...

I heard on a talk show that people are so oblivious to the world around them that when they did a test with random subjects and put a gorilla in a normal room full of everyday things ten percent of people did not notice the gorilla. The speaker on the show said these ten percent are those that do not survive disasters.