The Gorilla in the Room | Attentional blindness, a livestreamed execution and ADHD at work

The Concept of the Week is attentional blindness: the invisible gorilla, and why the thing you are not attending to never gets painted into the picture your brain builds. The Pentagon says the firing squad execution of Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan will be livestreamed. Why does it disgust us, and why are we drawn to it anyway? Shannon Burns has won a disability discrimination claim over her ADHD. Peter sets out his disputed view that ADHD is not an illness, and Hilary pushes back: without a diagnosis, how do people get help? A naked gold statue of Donald Trump stands outside the European Parliament. Is ridicule the answer? The Triple T: look again. Not seeing it is not evidence that it is not there. Please note: This episode discusses a planned execution and its livestreaming, mass shootings, public executions and beheading videos, and ADHD, mental health diagnosis and discrimination at work. ADHD UK: https://adhduk.co.uk. Acas on disability discrimination: https://www.acas.org.uk/disability-di... Chapters 00:00 Cold open 00:14 Welcome, and this week's headlines 01:44 The Traitors, saved for a birthday 05:30 Oscar wants out 06:12 Concept of the Week: attentional blindness 07:44 Giving a name to what we already knew 08:24 A livestreamed execution 09:41 Crimes against the state 11:10 Cruel and unusual 13:12 Why we are drawn to the horrific 14:09 The last public execution in America 17:14 Playing to the worst in us 18:54 Elections, lotteries and the least bad system 20:30 Algorithms and the fourth estate 21:52 He who fights monsters 22:48 An ADHD tribunal and a sauna 24:07 Peter's view: the facts are disputed 26:39 We are always dividing our attention 29:21 Focused on Roblox 32:25 Hilary pushes back 34:07 The Fonagy review 37:28 Me, my brain and baked beans 40:35 Without a diagnosis, how do people get help? 43:12 Coffee, stimulants and focus 45:04 Start the school day at 11 46:51 Times tables before attention 48:21 Laika and the classroom 51:52 The orange plague: a gold Trump statue 53:02 When they go low 54:53 A laughing stock 56:50 Robot lawnmowers 57:26 World leaders take the mick 57:49 The Triple T: look again 59:26 Paint it upside down 01:00:04 A birthday, and goodbye