Did You Spot the Gorilla?

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Lighthearted, fun and very informative - Rated
The narrative style of the book is excellent, with it's easily readable format that keeps you interested as you go, I read the book in two sittings. The way the author will have you kicking yourself throughout the book will certainly make you smile. On more than one occasion I believed I understood what I was supposed to miss, read on thinking 'ok I get that' only to flick back after a few pages of further explanation to see I had royally missed the gorilla!

Fun, powerful and most importantly - practical and applicable, one of the best in this genre I've read this year.

Gorilla hunting for beginners - Rated
Here is a title to make you stop and think. Based on an experiment where viewers of a video clip are asked to count the number of passes a three-a-side basketball team make, an astonishing 80% fail to see the gorilla-costumed intruder. This can be because we are too focussed - we don't see what we are not looking for. A 'gorilla' is something so blindingly obvious that we fail to see it.

The book is deliberately aimed at the 55-minute audience, those short-haul train or plane travellers, and is expensive on a cost-per-page basis. However, the cost has to be offset against the value it gives to the professional and personal lives of readers. Make no mistake, there is a huge carry-over in applying lessons to business life and home - change your outlook in one and it will almost certainly affect the other.

The volume may be used as a corporate hand-out, and it uses psychological tricks and ploys, with anecdotes of where a 'gorilla' has been found. Many readers could add their own examples, and that can work well in a group context.

A chatty style is not prescriptive, and there are 4 clear lessons to encourage gorilla spotting. One thing that I did find irritating was being asked to write answers in the book. Needless to say I did not do this - it ruins the volume for ever, and means that the pages cannot be revisited in the future. At any rate, not without purchasing an additional copy. The cynic may think that this is to encourage further sales.

Richard Wiseman has written a little gem that should make you stop and think. Perhaps the biggest key to spotting 'gorillas' is to be aware that there are some out there. Go out and look for some. It could change your life.

Peter Morgan, Bath, UK (morganp@supanet.com)

Insightful read - very useful - Rated
Excellent explanation of how we can use simple methods to view situations from a different, but straightforward, perspective. I suuggest you bookmark the useful tips as you go along, as you will want to return to them later.

This gorilla is gggrrrreeeaaatttt! - Rated
The title of this book on creativity immediately caught my eye. The gorilla is a metaphor for those priceless ideas and opportunities which seem obvious in hindsight, but which most people miss. I have my own company and am always looking for innovative ideas to attract clients and get ahead of the competition. The book is packed full of amusing examples, really eye-catching illustrations, and practical exercises that do a great job of demonstrating how to improve one's gorilla-spotting skills. Unusually, the book is written by an academic rather than a motivational speaker, so it's based on authentic research rather than vague hand-waving. It certainly tickled a few of my creative parts that had not been tickled before! Before reading "gorilla" I was stuck on the problem of how to do an annual promotional mailing round our client list without them filing it straight in the trash can. The book gave me several new ideas for an eye-catching promotion and my only problem now is which one to use. I think this book will be priceless to anyone who's looking for innovative ideas - not only that, it's fun to read too - what more could you ask?!