PSYCHOLOGICAL BLINDNESS
“they blind you by directing focus. watch for what's hidden.”
The Lesson
Magic tricks teach you about persuasion. The card trick: I call them 'red queens and black kings'-this mentally blinds you to the suits. If you tracked suits, you'd see cards switching hands. The label created blindness. News works the same way. They don't make stories disappear. They direct your attention elsewhere. 'Look at this!' means 'Don't look at that.' When you see a minor outlet cover what should be the biggest story, someone decided to blind you to it. Study magic tricks and you'll spot psychological blindness everywhere-it's created intentionally every day.
Real-World Example
A founder reads tech news and notices: one company's scandal dominates while a bigger competitor's scandal gets buried. They've learned to spot it: 'What am I being directed away from?' They dig into the buried story and find an opportunity everyone missed. Psychological blindness creates information asymmetry. And information asymmetry creates competitive advantage.
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