francene--blog. Year 2013
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Sept 16th

9/16/2013

 
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Smaller animals tend to perceive time in slow-motion, according to a new study published in the UK journal Animal Behaviour. This means that they can observe movement on a finer timescale than bigger predators, allowing them to escape danger.

Insects and small birds, for example, can see more information in one second than a larger animal such as an elephant.


Picturewww.rentokil.com
Graeme Ruxton, of the University of St Andrews, Scotland, a co-author, said: "Having eyes that send updates to the brain at much higher frequencies than our eyes do is of no value if the brain cannot process that information equally quickly. Hence, this work highlights the impressive capabilities of even the smallest animal brains.

Flies might not be deep thinkers but they can make good decisions very quickly."


Picturewww.telegraph.co.uk
Animals with the fastest visual systems in the database included golden mantled ground squirrels, starlings and pigeons. Flying in flocks, they are able to perceive where their partner is. It's fascinating to wonder how insects and birds might perceive the world differently to us. Everything must come to them in slow motion, while they have the ability to react in normal time, like one of those tricks of the camera in a movie.

Apparently, some humans perceive movement faster than others. Athletes can often process visual information more quickly. An experienced goalkeeper would therefore be quicker than others in observing where a ball comes from. I can name other games where fast thinking would benefit a team: polo, basketball, short track races; you can probably suggest more.

According to the study, the speed at which humans absorb visual information is also age-related. Youngsters react fast right up to their prime, but the ability decreases with age.

The study used a technique called critical flicker fusion frequency, which measures the speed at which the eye can process light. Plotting results on a graph revealed a pattern that showed a strong relationship between body size and how quick the eye could respond to changing visual information such as a flashing light.

They warned that our perception of speed has reached the limit of what is humanly possible in driving Formula 1 speed cars or flying planes. To move any quicker would require either computer assistance, or enhancement of our visual system, either through drugs or implants.

Sounds like more science fiction becoming reality for the future.


Cathie B link
9/15/2013 07:40:34 pm

This was a really interesting post and learnt quite a lot from it.

Francene Stanley link
9/15/2013 11:43:27 pm

So glad the information pleased you. I find every facet of life fascinating.

Michelle Liew link
9/15/2013 09:35:22 pm

How quickly we perceive can make the difference between life and death....hopefully we will find out more about speed and perception so that we can benefit from it.

Francene Stanley link
9/16/2013 03:13:17 am

The scientists and research teams are always at it. I'm sure they'll study this fascinating aspect of time perception more fully.

Suerae Stein link
9/16/2013 04:08:53 am

That is very fascinating, and it certainly makes sense. Although, I can't help but wonder why squirrels seem to be so slow in getting out of the way of a car. I often have to stop and wait for them to move. Perhaps they don't sense the danger from a car as they do from a predator.

Francene Stanley link
9/16/2013 06:53:25 pm

I saw a TV program recently about a prehistoric bird in New Zealand. When man arrived from Indonesia, the bird hadn't learned that man was a preditor. They were wiped out. They never got a chance to learn.

Alana link
9/16/2013 08:13:38 am

Fascinating post! I've heard that, for people in crisis, that time can slow down. I hope I never have to find out if they are right. But if it is true, it would seem to beanother example of smaller animals processing time in a different way than larger animals.

Francene Stanley link
9/16/2013 06:54:58 pm

I've fallen a couple of times and time did slow down. Not that I could save myself. Maybe it gave me time to do the least damage to my body.


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    Author

    Francene Stanley, author of many published novels. If you like my writing, why not consider purchasing one of my books? You'll see them on the sidebar below.
    Born in Australia, I moved to Britain half way through my long life.

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