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General Science / Re: When is now?
« on: 20/05/2014 21:46:59 »
It takes about 100ms to process auditory information, and 300ms to process visual information, and yet they seem simultaneous*.
So I would have to say that "the present" lasts at least 200ms=300ms-100ms.
But because of the mental processing delays, "the present" is always 300ms in "the past".
*There was the intriguing case of a man who suffered a brain injury so this mental synchronisation was lost. His first symptom was that he thought the TV was broken, because he could hear the sound before the picture moved - but everyone else thought it was OK.
So I would have to say that "the present" lasts at least 200ms=300ms-100ms.
But because of the mental processing delays, "the present" is always 300ms in "the past".
*There was the intriguing case of a man who suffered a brain injury so this mental synchronisation was lost. His first symptom was that he thought the TV was broken, because he could hear the sound before the picture moved - but everyone else thought it was OK.