Watch this video. Tyler comes to help his boss who seems to have stapled his finger to a plank of wood. It’s a prank of course, the finger is fine. But it takes Tyler a very long time to recognise that his boss is OK.
Maybe Tyler is dumb. But I don’t think so. I think Tyler is in shock. So focused on the task of freeing his bosses finger, that all the new information about the situation is filtered out. It’s like that great video about the kids playing basket ball demonstrating selective attention.
We know Tyler is going to be tricked but his boss removes his own finger three times before Tyler really sees what we see. HIs focus lasts for so long. There must be a name for this in the taxonomy of comedy. Focusing on a problem that isn’t a problem. Is there? I don’t know what it is.