3 ms·

The hand is faster than the eye - you can do things quicker than you can perceive doing them. One time I reacted to a snake before I realized I saw the snake.

by csours 5y ago

The hand is faster than the eye - you can do things quicker than you can perceive doing them. One time I reacted to a snake before I realized I saw the snake. There are also problems with laying down memories. As the author of the post says, we still have trouble nailing this down in the modern day.

jfoutz 5y ago
Not long ago I realized there's a whole bunch of stuff I just "make up" about the world. The "me" part of my brain knows I blink. I know I'm blind, but I don't remember it at all. Turns out it's actually worse thanks to being blind while my eyes rotate in their sockets. "saccades". There's some machinery grinding away all the time, making up little stories about the world to maintain a consistent view. I spent, and continue to spend, a lot of time wondering where else I'm blind. The snake thing is cool. I know I have some hardwired reflexes around heat and pain. I can't think of a case where I've exercised the "hidden monster" reflex, but I believe you, and I probably have it, or something like it.
- sk0g 5y ago
  I play indoor football regulary, both as a goalkeeper and as a defender. It's similar to the full 11v11 game, but on a much smaller pitch, and thus much quicker. I can't count the number of times I've performed (useful) actions, to then almost be stunned for a moment as I reconcile what happened. The one I remember most vividly is a ball that was passed right at me from across the pitch. I knew my teammate kicked it, but I thought it was a shot towards goal at first. I couldn't see till about 2 metres away from me as it was across a defensive line, but it was a driven, pacy pass towards me. I stuck out a foot to kick it into goal very tidily, before I even registered that the pass was actually coming towards me. Feels like time slowing down around you for half a second, pretty cool.
  - jfoutz 5y ago
    Oh yeah! I was almost in a car accident. Car in front hit the break, car was very close behind. Touched the break, and passed on the shoulder. Definitely relate to the time slowdown. I think it was adrenaline, I remember shaking after.
dredmorbius 5y ago
As someone who doesn't have any particular phobia or fear of or around snakes (a generous caution, yes, fear, no), I also had the experience of unexpectedly encountering one and discovering my subconcious body had responded and fetched me away from it several seconds before I consciously recognised what had transpired. It was and remains a powerful and fascinating experience.

by csours 5y ago

jfoutz 5y ago

Not long ago I realized there's a whole bunch of stuff I just "make up" about the world. The "me" part of my brain knows I blink. I know I'm blind, but I don't remember it at all. Turns out it's actually worse thanks to being blind while my eyes rotate in their sockets. "saccades". There's some machinery grinding away all the time, making up little stories about the world to maintain a consistent view. I spent, and continue to spend, a lot of time wondering where else I'm blind. The snake thing is cool. I know I have some hardwired reflexes around heat and pain. I can't think of a case where I've exercised the "hidden monster" reflex, but I believe you, and I probably have it, or something like it.

sk0g 5y ago
I play indoor football regulary, both as a goalkeeper and as a defender. It's similar to the full 11v11 game, but on a much smaller pitch, and thus much quicker. I can't count the number of times I've performed (useful) actions, to then almost be stunned for a moment as I reconcile what happened. The one I remember most vividly is a ball that was passed right at me from across the pitch. I knew my teammate kicked it, but I thought it was a shot towards goal at first. I couldn't see till about 2 metres away from me as it was across a defensive line, but it was a driven, pacy pass towards me. I stuck out a foot to kick it into goal very tidily, before I even registered that the pass was actually coming towards me. Feels like time slowing down around you for half a second, pretty cool.
- jfoutz 5y ago
  Oh yeah! I was almost in a car accident. Car in front hit the break, car was very close behind. Touched the break, and passed on the shoulder. Definitely relate to the time slowdown. I think it was adrenaline, I remember shaking after.

dredmorbius 5y ago

As someone who doesn't have any particular phobia or fear of or around snakes (a generous caution, yes, fear, no), I also had the experience of unexpectedly encountering one and discovering my subconcious body had responded and fetched me away from it several seconds before I consciously recognised what had transpired. It was and remains a powerful and fascinating experience.