Teach Everyone to Spot the Moonwalking Bear
This is an awareness test. It takes only 50 seconds… but it could change the way you look at the world.
I want you to focus. Watch this video above closely and count how many times the people in white shirts pass the basketball.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/xNSgmm9FX2s?si=QDK2NLbH94_BwrEx
Okay, how many passes did you count? Be honest with yourself – did you miss the gorilla walking through the middle of the screen?
I’ll admit, when I first saw this video, I was so focused on counting the passes that I completely overlooked the moonwalking bear. It was a humbling experience, but also a crucial learning moment. Once I realized my mistake, I understood just how easy it is to have blinders on, even when the unexpected is staring us right in the face.
As a cybersecurity professional, I now apply this lesson to almost everything I do. Whether I’m conducting research, looking for vulnerabilities, or just navigating the digital landscape, I’m always on the lookout for those “black gorillas” – the anomalies, the zero-day threats, the things that don’t quite fit the expected pattern. It’s made me a better analyst, a more vigilant bug bounty hunter, and frankly, a more aware person in general.
You see, this lesson isn’t just relevant to my field. It applies across all professions and walks of life. How often do we get so fixated on the obvious “white shirts” (the things we think we need to focus on) that we miss the bigger picture? It happens more than we’d like to admit.
That’s why I want everyone in my audience to take this test, reflect on their own experience, and then consciously work on expanding their field of vision. The more you practice noticing the unexpected, the better you’ll become at spotting the real threats, whether they’re in the digital or physical world.
The moonwalking bear is out there, my friends. Are you ready to see it?
