Welcome to my personal website. I am a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois. My research explores the limits of our own minds and the reasons why we often are unaware of our limits. I have taught introductory psychology as well as seminars/courses in visual cognition. I regularly teach graduate courses on research practices and speaking/writing.
Beyond my academic work, I am a writer and public speaker. My first book, The Invisible Gorilla, was co-authored by Christopher Chabris and was first published in 2010 (by Crown). It became a NY Times bestseller and has been translated into 20 languages worldwide. It explores ways in which our intuitive beliefs about how our own mind works are often misguided, and how critical thinking (and scientific method) can help us better understand our own limits.
On this website, you can learn more about my research, writing, and speaking. You can also follow me on twitter, Google+ or YouTube by clicking the icons to the right.
Beyond my academic work, I am a writer and public speaker. My first book, The Invisible Gorilla, was co-authored by Christopher Chabris and was first published in 2010 (by Crown). It became a NY Times bestseller and has been translated into 20 languages worldwide. It explores ways in which our intuitive beliefs about how our own mind works are often misguided, and how critical thinking (and scientific method) can help us better understand our own limits.
On this website, you can learn more about my research, writing, and speaking. You can also follow me on twitter, Google+ or YouTube by clicking the icons to the right.
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Latest News:
- I have been posting regular updates about the Covid-19 situation at the University of Illinois. You can follow my daily updates at http://www.dansimons.com/covid.html. I have also written this summary of what happened during the fall 2020 semester. I have also written an analysis of how test processing delays contributed to spread and an essay on how to correctly (and incorrectly) interpret the positivity ratio.
- Chris Chabris and I published an article in Slate on how to avoid false memories. I also appeared on CNN AC360 to discuss the Brian Williams case and I was interviewed for Voice of America (no links available yet).
- I recently served on a National Academy of Sciences committee that reviewed best practices for eyewitness identification. You can read the full report here.