Now, there are many different variations on the meaning of ‘hiding in plain sight,’ so to make it clear, when I say ‘to hide in plain sight,’ I mean to literally hide while also simultaneously remain completely visible by anyone. Anyone, that is, who knows how to look for you.
. . .
Selective attention is what enables us to focus on tasks at hand and accomplish our goals. It allows us to notice and think of things related to our personal goals, all while filtering out irrelevant information. Without it, for example, it would probably take us hours just to tie our own shoes at the beginning of the day (just ask anyone with ADHD!). But, although our capacity to focus on what we perceive is a remarkable human trait, it is still markedly human, and it does have it’s limitations.
The thing about our ability to control our attention is that we are also quite likely to “over-focus,” causing us to miss things that might otherwise seem obvious.