An example LNS search that is harder than a LS search. Search for a −20° target among 0° and −40° (A) is LNS because −20° lies in between 0° and −40° and cannot be separated from the two distracters using a single linear boundary. In contrast, the search for 0° among −20° and −40° (E) is LS because 0° can be separated from −20° and −40° using a single linear boundary. Here, the LNS search (A) is harder than the LS search (E). The remaining panels in each row indicate the simple searches corresponding to the LNS (panels B, C, and D) and LS searches (panels F, G, and H). These show that the LNS target is less similar to one distracter compared to LS (−20° among 0° is easier than 0° among −20°; B vs. F), but it is more similar to its distracters than LS (−20° among −40° is harder than 0° among −40°; C vs. G), and the distracters in the LNS search are less similar than the LS distracters (0° among −40° is easier than −20° among −40°; D vs. H). Thus, the LNS search has a target that is more similar to its distracters and has more heterogeneous distracters, making it harder than the LS search. The numbers at the bottom of each panel represent the average search times ± SEM across subjects.