# The Double-Edged Sword of #CANTUNSEE

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-buoyant-leader-7043386/the-double-edged-sword-of-cantunsee
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-buoyant-leader-7043386/the-double-edged-sword-of-cantunsee.md
Podcast: [The Buoyant Leader](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-buoyant-leader-7043386)
Published: 2026-02-04T06:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://howiejacobson.india-explore.in/captivate-podcast/the-double-edged-sword-of-cantunsee
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/d6e6b352-f3bc-4921-a31e-af4fc526cfd0.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-buoyant-leader-7043386/episodes/the-double-edged-sword-of-cantunsee
Duration seconds: 430

## Resource

This episode requires taking a look at some visuals. You can find them here . Here’s the official logo for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Take a quick look at it before continuing to read this article. [IMAGE MISSING HERE] No sooner had it been revealed to the public when a commenter on Reddit noted that it looked like a facepalm. Other Redditers immediately chimed in, “CAN’T UNSEE.” The “Can’t Unsee” meme is all over the internet, and refers to a fascinating function of the brain: once your perception is changed in a particular way, you literally can’t go back to your old way of perceiving. You may have seen three hands wrapped around a soccer ball when you first glanced at the FIFA logo. If you’re familiar with the world cup, you may have noted that the hands form the rough shape of the actual cup that goes to the winning team. But once you saw the word “facepalm,” there is it, isn’t it? Try NOT to see the yellow hand covering the chagrined face — impossible. Here’s a different example of #cantunsee, courtesy of Andy Clark’s 2023 book The Experience Machine. What do you see when you look at this image? [IMAGE MISSING HERE] I’ll tell you what it is: a black and white rendering of a greyscale photograph. And I’ll write a couple more paragraphs so your eyes don’t accidentally see the photograph itself before you’re ready. Most people who are shown this image see blotches of black ink and white spaces in the rough shape of a rectangle. (Of course, there’s isn’t any rectangle, but we’ll let that curiosity pass for now.) The really interesting this about this image is that, after you see the second image, you’ll never be able to see it the same way again: as random blotches. You brain will have been irrevocably changed, with no going back. So don’t continue down this page unless…

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## Transcript

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