Have you ever been looking for something and discovered it was right in front of you? In the South there’s an old saying about missing something that is in plain view: If it had been a snake, it would have bit you. You shake your head and feel like a fool. But this experience of missing what is obvious is so common that it is even the subject of psychological studies.

Alejandro Lleras is a professor of psychology who studies what he calls “inattentional blindness,” or the ability to miss something obvious. He believes that our brains have developed highly selective ways of scanning and sorting information. And this scanning and sorting function in our brain works more efficiently if we “create biases against certain images it deems distracting.” My keys couldn’t possibly be right in front…