Brains are funny things. Studies have shown that human beings are pretty awful eye witnesses. The problem isn’t with our vision, but with the way our brain processes incoming information. Our fleshy pink memory banks would be filled to capacity if everything we saw every day was retained exactly as we saw it. Right now as I sit in front of my computer, I am looking at my computer screen and am aware of my keyboard and mouse. But if I were to stop and actually take a long look at my desk, there’s also a can of Diet Dr. Pepper, some nose spray, a little cloth I use to clean my glasses, an iPhone charging cable, and a dozen other items within my immediate vicinity. The side of the Diet Dr. Pepper can lists all its ingredients and the cleaning cloth has a small logo printed on it. None of this information is important to the task at hand (writing this blog post) and so although those all those items are technically within my line of sight, my brain filters all that stuff out.

With a literal nonstop flood of incoming information, our brains work overtime to combine information, put things into context, and make a lot of assumptions.

Which is why I have started leaving a white hard hat sitting on my dash overnight.

There are different opinions when it comes to decorating the outside of a “stealth” camper van. One of the biggest points of contention is whether or not you should disguise your van by adding advertising magnets or some other signage to the outside of your van. I have gone back and forth on this. On one hand, putting a magnet that says “BAKERY” or “CATERING” would give my van a “purpose” so-to-speak, but the flipside of that argument is that it gives people something to look at, to read, and to remember. There’s also the argument that signs for any business that involves tools, like a mechanic or repair shop, might also contain tools which might actually make your van attractive to thieves. For now I’m sticking with the white, descript look. It’s a bit like a magic trick; because there’s nothing visual for a person’s brain to hang on to, the incoming data is quickly flushed.

That being said putting a hard hat in the front of my van might seem to fall along those same lines, but I don’t think it does. It’s not something anyone will see when I’m driving around or anything. It’s just something that I can toss onto the dash or the front seat when I’m camping. Its purpose isn’t to stand up to deep scrutiny. My thinking is that when people walk by the van and see it, even subconsciously, their brain will go “worker van.” That’s it.

I once watched David Copperfield escape from a jail cell live on stage while under the scrutiny of two prison guards. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized… those weren’t prison guards. Those are actors, hired by Copperfield and wearing costumes. My brain saw two guys dressed as prison guards and my brain interpreted that as “two prison guards.”

My hope is that someone walking past my van will notice the hard hat, their brain will process that as “worker van,” and keep walking.