Posted by Ev on April 29, 1999 at 22:45:40:
Hello one and all, just thought I'd share something with you regarding this reading test (count the F's). I went to a 3 day seminar dealing with how the mind processes information. The overall purpose was to increase productivity within a salesforce but one of the interesting areas touched on this very test to prove a point.
The human mind is only able to process a certain amount of information effectively in any given period of time. Since the information input is almost always more than we can deal with we become "deletion" creatures. In other words the mind prioritizes input consistent with your present circumstances and mental state. The part of the brain that handles this work is called the "reticular activating system" and it's primary purpose is to screen out unwanted/unneeded information. One of the ways it accomplishes its task is by creating a state of "selective blindness" or a "scatoma".
When you're reading the finished files text people tend to overlook the F's in "of" because it is consistent with how we pronounce the word. It is a matter of little significance whether one sees the F's or not so we let the reticular activating system go into high gear so to speak. I don't believe the test has any validity at all as an intelligence indicator. Just thought I'd share the info. for what it's worth. Bye for now,
Ev