Daniel Simons, along with Christopher Chabris, are cognitive psychologists who have each received accolades for their research on a wide range of topics. Their “Gorillas in Our Midst” study reveals the dark side of our ability to pay attention and has quickly become one of the best-known experiments in all of psychology; it inspired a stage play and was even discussed by characters on C.S.I. Chabris, who received his Ph.D. from Harvard, is a psychology professor at Union College in New York. Simons, who received his Ph.D. from Cornell, is a psychology professor at the University of Illinois.

With all eyes turned on its likely passage, few have considered that it will do nothing to improve our poor understanding of the complicated financial system that caused the meltdown, says cognitive psychologists Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons.