On some occasions time seems to fly, like when you're so close to a game's next level,
but other times it slows to a crawl, like that moment before your first kiss.
Of course the rate at which objective, physical time passes is always constant for you (unless
you're moving at a fraction of the speed of light), but it certainly doesn't feel that
way.
Think about how long these 5 discs appear for.
Were all discs on screen for the same amount of time?
Or was one there for longer than the others?
Research shows most people think the disc coming towards them stayed for longer, when
in reality, all five disks appeared for the same duration.
In psychology this is known as the time dilation effect (not to be confused with time dilation
in physics!).
This is only one example of our distorted perception of time.
It also happens when we listen to music.
In 2004, the Royal Automobile Club Foundation for Motoring deemed Wagner's ride of the Valkyries
the most dangerous piece of music... to listen to while driving.
They said the frenzied tempo warps the drivers' sense of speed—causing them to be fast and
furious.
The effects of music get more interesting when we look at the music's intensity—its
direction and volume.
Studies have found that we perceive looming, crescendoing sounds to last longer than receding
sounds—the audio analogue of the growing disk.
Imagine if something was coming closer and closer towards you, no wait... like an ill-tempered
sea bass.
When we first spot the sea bass, the sensory experience of it looming towards us means
our visual and audito cortices light up.
So we can see and hear it—but how do we know it's a threat?
Another brain region that's also really active is your superior temporal sulcus (Also Known
As the STS), that's involved in the perception of biological motion.
If you saw a photo of a sea bass it's how you perceive that the bass is swimming and
how you know what direction it's moving in.
If you sense the bass is looming towards you, these visual and audio stimuli can alter your
perception of time.
Your STS is just doing its job telling you to avoid potential threats and collisions,
all before your flight or flight response kicks in to help.
And if you happen to have a closer encounter with an ill-tempered sea bass, whatever you
do, don't play it the Ride of the Valkyries.
If it felt like time flew during this video, research says you're actually more likely
to rate it as fun.
And speaking of fun, subscribe to BrainCraft!
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