Eli5 – Why do we notice a misspelling AFTER sending a text and not before, even when we proofread it once or twice?

Question

Eli5 – Why do we notice a misspelling AFTER sending a text and not before, even when we proofread it once or twice?

In: Technology

Answer 1

I have noticed that while in the program I’m using (email, text, word, whatever) if I look at it too long, my brain anticipates what is expected but not what’s actually there. If I copy it into a different program, or change the font style or color, my brain thinks it’s something new and I can pick up the mistakes. Usually, the screen you type in looks different than the screen you view in, so once you’ve sent it and look again, your brain is seeing it “fresh”.