Douglas Adams first 'prophesied' the idea in his books, Hitch Hikers et al, and even created the name for it. It's called SEP, or more accurately known as Somebody Else's Problem.
Basically it works like this. A field is created around an object and even though the object is physically in existence, the eyes do not register it when looked upon directly. Sometimes it is possible to catch a glimpse of it through the corner of the eye, but when looked at directly, it is not there. This is because the existence of the object is Somebody Else's Problem.
Sometimes the simple things in life are often the simplest.
Anyway, i think this is more important right now, especially this time of year.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1 ... ritis.html