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| solet |
 Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:12 am Post subject: Brain question |
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Forum Freshman
Joined: 20 Apr 2008
Posts: 2
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Hi all, I wonder if you could answer a question for me that seems to be resistant to googling, most likely because I am ignorant of the appropriate terminology.
As we perceive the world there is a delay, small or great, due to the hard cap of the speed of light, ie what we see is slightly behind how it is (if it is meaningful to talk of such a thing), but also presumably there is a small delay in processing sensory information and turning it into images etc. Is this so? And if so, how does the brain adjust for this, if it does?
Perhaps this is me being dense, but if there is anything other than the most insignificant of delays (like a ping in a game one might think of it), then tasks that we make seem trivial, such as catching a ball, must compensate for 'reality-lag'.
Any clarity would be much appreciated by those in the know.
Cheers. |
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| Kenny Klassen |
| Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:50 am Post subject: |
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Forum Freshman
Joined: 15 Mar 2008
Posts: 65
Location: Quesnel BC
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The lag is less than 1/1000 of a second, for a normal person the sensory part of are brain are directly connected to our nervous centers, for most people it will take your thinking brain longer to relize it has to catch than it will for you to acctually do it. I hope this is acurite a haven't done brain any brain studing in a while. I apolgise for the spelling and grammer.
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In the study of life in todays socity there are sevral truth we must face the folowing are the ones I have manged to come to terms with:
1. You will probably end up doing something related to Cancer, Aids, or some other dieases that incovinces the genral public
2. In order to make money you either will be doing the afore mentioned research because that is where all the free grant money is, working for a company, or having to teach people some of whom really should not be there
3. You cannot take up reserach biologist as a hobby inless you have another substancial form of income |
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| i_feel_tiredsleepy |
| Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:41 am Post subject: |
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Forum Senior
Joined: 21 Mar 2008
Posts: 376
Location: Montreal
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| Ya the neurons of the retina are directly connected to the tectum in the brain and the information is transmitted so quickly, that the delay is insignificant as it would be impossible to process and react in such a short amount of time anyway. |
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| Robbie |
| Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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Forum Bachelors Degree
Joined: 08 Aug 2006
Posts: 484
Location: Dublin
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the delay is much greater than you think as it has nothing to do with the restrictions of the speed of light but of the passage of an electric gradient propelled by ion channels. But it would make no sense for you to be conscience of delays in sight, in fact the processing of light information is MUCH more complex than you may think so the delay may well be by processing he information, not simply by the delay in the passage of the primary optic tracts.
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There is not enough love & kindness in the world to permit us give it away to imaginary beings.
Nietzsche |
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| Pong |
| Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:35 pm Post subject: |
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Forum Senior
Joined: 08 Apr 2008
Posts: 314
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The brain anticipates far more than we are conscious of. For example, if you recall running to catch a ball it will seem you were continuously aware of that ball. But you blinked, didn't you notice? You glanced all around as you ran, and only checked the ball from time to time against your growing assumption of where it must be/be going.
You only get about 25 snapshots per second anyway. 25hz ... and my gaming mouse can do 1000. That seems excessive, yet, anybody can sense the relative lagginess of a 125hz mouse vs. 250hz, anybody.
Here's a trick. Find yourself a fan or other object moving rapidly enough to blur. Face it and shut your eyes. Then flick the eyelids open just long enough to capture a "still". You can see the blade shapes! Now why it is that we can't normally perceive this, as a kind of parallel vision, since the eye is catching it, I don't know. |
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| solet |
| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:23 am Post subject: |
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Forum Freshman
Joined: 20 Apr 2008
Posts: 2
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Thanks for the informative replies all. Robbie, you say it makes no sense for me to me conscious of the delay, what do you mean? Do you mean it makes no sense for me to think about it, wonder about the existence and nature of such a delay, or rather by conscious you mean what perhaps I'd call 'unconscious' (brain aware at some level that I don't necessarily have access to)?
Essentially I was intrigued by the idea that the delay might be greater than I thought, and of course there would be no way to notice. It is just weird to think that everything we experience is in the past tense.
Thanks all. |
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