A researcher asks a passer-by for directions. Two men carry a door between them, and the researcher is replaced by someone else in different clothes. In Simons and Levin's experiment, about half the passers-by kept talking without noticing a thing. We feel we see the whole scene, but we keep only the gist.
Remembering is not replaying a recording — it is rebuilding. Each time you recall a memory, it becomes temporarily malleable and can be altered before being stored again. That is why two people can sincerely remember the same event… differently.
In 2003, Johnson and Goldstein compared European countries. Where you must tick a box to become a donor, consent rates ranged from 4% to 28%. Where you're a donor by default unless you opt out, they topped 85%. People aren't more generous on one side; most simply stick with whatever option was chosen for them.