The recent publication of Unseen: Blind spots and why we miss what matters most is a significant and rather poignant moment for everyone at Mindlab.

The book was written by Mindlab’s founder, Dr David Lewis, with digital illusionist Keelan Leyser. David completed his work on it before he passed away, but did not get to see the finished book published.

David spent much of his career investigating a deceptively simple question: how much of what is in front of us do we actually see?

We tend to assume that our perception gives us a reliable picture of the world. In reality, attention is highly selective. We miss unexpected changes, overlook things that do not appear immediately relevant and interpret what we see through our existing expectations. We can even provide convincing explanations for choices that were influenced by factors outside our conscious awareness.

Unseen explores these different forms of cognitive blind spot, drawing on psychology, neuroscience, consumer research and the techniques used by magicians to direct attention. It looks at why blind spots occur, how they can influence everything from shopping and investing to medical diagnosis and business decisions, and what we can do to recognise them.

Many of its themes will feel familiar to people who knew David’s work at Mindlab. Our conscious explanation for a decision is only one part of the story. Context changes how information is interpreted. Expectations influence what gets noticed. Understanding behaviour therefore requires us to look beyond what people are immediately able to tell us.

David brought enormous curiosity to these questions. The publication of Unseen is an opportunity to share his thinking with a much wider audience, as well as recognise the contribution he made to Mindlab and to the understanding of human behaviour.

Unseen: Blind spots and why we miss what matters most by David Lewis and Keelan Leyser is published by Bloomsbury Sigma and is available in hardback, ebook and audiobook.

Find out more about the book published by Bloomsbury Sigma, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.