# Why eyewitnesses get it wrong

- Institution: TED
- Department: TEDxUSC
- Speaker: Scott Fraser
- Year: 2012
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Biology, Psychology and the brain, Society and politics, Law
- Source: [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/scott_fraser_why_eyewitnesses_get_it_wrong)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) (Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions.)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

Scott Fraser studies how humans remember crimes -- and bear witness to them. In this powerful talk, which focuses on a deadly shooting at sunset, he suggests that even close-up eyewitnesses to a crime can create "memories" they could not have seen. Why? Because the brain abhors a vacuum. Editor's note: In the original version of this talk, Scott Fraser misspoke about available footage of Two World Trade Center (Tower 2). The misstatement has been edited out for clarity.

## Lectures

1. [Why eyewitnesses get it wrong](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/ted/scott_fraser_why_eyewitnesses_get_it_wrong/8c8cf4af3230), 19 min (TED's player)