The effect is named after Tinker Bell, the fairy in the play Peter Pan, who is revived from near death by the belief of the audience.
He relates his argument about the indirectness in motion perception to how, in the play version of Peter Pan, Tinkerbell's revival depends on the live audience expressing their belief in fairies through clapping.
The Tinkerbell effect points out a significant flaw in the brain's system of receiving and interpreting visually available information: it is not directly representative of reality.
Education reform can be complicated because the nature of change works from inside the institutions – driven by teachers, students, and administrators alike – outwards.
"Because the reform process often works this way-from the inside out, what succeeds at the school and district level can vary widely.
If an institution has greater confidence in its methods (by having effective teachers who promote clear goals and who pay personal attention to their students), it is more likely to receive the "claps" needed for its continued success.
[4][need quotation to verify] Cameron Stewart uses the Tinkerbell effect to explain why readers should "clap" for the rule of law principle.
He describes the attempts to implement the liberal philosophies embodied by this principle as the basis of common law constitution.