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DebuteMachine

Registered: 09/29/06
Posts: 6,457
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When do things actually happen?
#18723220 - 08/18/13 03:03 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Okay hear me out. I want to know by the time my brain actually interprets the data it received to react to, how long before did that data actually take to get there?
I mean is all of this simultaneous?
From the time the sun emits a light particle, it travels to earth, bounces off an objects to hit my eyes, and then my eyes take in the data, flip it around, and send it to the brain.
So how long does that take?
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Bacchus
Lurker



Registered: 10/10/06
Posts: 914
Loc: ::1
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Re: When do things actually happen? [Re: DebuteMachine]
#18724999 - 08/18/13 09:56 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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This Radiolab episode blew my mind: http://www.radiolab.org/2013/feb/05/
It discusses the transit time across different pathways through the human nervous system and the processing time inside different regions of the brain. My spotty recollection won't do it justice, and my girlfriend is screaming for dinner, so I don't have time to listen to it for you (that's how much I love radiolab!!)
As for the time that it takes light to get from the sun to your eyes, 1 Astronomical Unit / Speed of light = 499 seconds ~ 8.3 minutes. Add to that the nervous system time from the radiolab episode, and you've got your answer.
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
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Re: When do things actually happen? [Re: DebuteMachine]
#18725509 - 08/19/13 12:00 AM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Not all that long; the longest delay is the interpretation that takes place inside your brain. Visual perception takes only a couple of milliseconds at most. Of course, actually responding to cues takes a little longer.
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hidenseek1
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Re: When do things actually happen? [Re: koraks]
#18726572 - 08/19/13 08:53 AM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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i may have misunderstood this post a bit, but i dont think you count the sun time because the even though the light particles had to travel to earth, they were already here when they bounced off of whatever you saw
so i guess you just use the time when they bounced off whatever your looking at, which if the object is in space, may have been significantly in the past
but if the objects on earth its pretty much the present
i mean wed probly be vegetarians if the buffalo we saw was in the past when we tried shooting the bow, and it was already long gone by the time the arrow left the bow
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DebuteMachine

Registered: 09/29/06
Posts: 6,457
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Re: When do things actually happen? [Re: hidenseek1]
#18726678 - 08/19/13 09:26 AM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
hidenseek1 said: i may have misunderstood this post a bit, but i dont think you count the sun time because the even though the light particles had to travel to earth, they were already here when they bounced off of whatever you saw
so i guess you just use the time when they bounced off whatever your looking at, which if the object is in space, may have been significantly in the past
but if the objects on earth its pretty much the present
i mean wed probly be vegetarians if the buffalo we saw was in the past when we tried shooting the bow, and it was already long gone by the time the arrow left the bow
You're totally right, I did go off on to a bit of a tangent, sorry!
But the first poster had it right. I just want to know how long it takes for your brain to interpret the data once it hits the eye. Are we talking nano seconds? Because I was thinking about how you could POSSIBLY react to something before it happens, given you know the lag time on your eye balls.
But I'm just curious.
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,672
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Re: When do things actually happen? [Re: DebuteMachine]
#18726994 - 08/19/13 11:00 AM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Milliseconds. I'd say 10 ~ 100 depending on if stuff happens in the center or the periphery of your vision. Add another 150 ~ 750 ms for an actual response.
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DebuteMachine

Registered: 09/29/06
Posts: 6,457
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Re: When do things actually happen? [Re: koraks]
#18727272 - 08/19/13 12:07 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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This thread came about because I trying to see if it could be realized by doing actions ahead of the time you actually saw them. Some sort of pre-cognitive-recognition or something.
But with only mere milliseconds this isn't possible, lol.
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