Chapter 1
The brain's autopilot and why years vanish
Chapter 2
The oddball effect and the science of surprise
Chapter 3
The holiday paradox and the two minds of time
Chapter 4
Free falls and fear: can we see in slow motion?
Chapter 5
Stealing time back: how to live a longer life today
YOUR GOAL
Master of The mind's time machine
Ch 4 · Free falls and fear: can we see in slow motion?
artiteacher Fear and Time Perception
No slow-mo / Denser memories / Time stretches later
artiteacher During life-threatening emergencies, your amygdala activates a secondary memory system to record dense sensory details in a highly
artiteacher A flashing digital display strapped to a volunteer's wrist during a free-fall
Fun Fact
The tower drop: Volunteers dropped from Eagleman's SCAD tower estimated their own fall lasted thirty-six percent longer than when they watched others fall from the ground.
Glossary
time perception (noun)
The subjective experience or cognitive sensing of the passage and duration of events. In 2007, neuroscientist David Eagleman tested this phenomenon by dropping volunteers from a Dallas SCAD tower.
The subjective experience or cognitive sensing of the passage and duration of events. In 2007, neuroscientist David Eagleman tested this phenomenon by dropping volunteers from a Dallas SCAD tower.
Quiz
Why do people involved in car crashes often report that the crash happened in slow motion?
Quiz
What did the SCAD tower experiment prove about our visual processing speed during terrifying events?
Quiz
What device did researchers strap to volunteers' wrists during the SCAD tower drop experiment?
Quiz
Which almond-shaped brain structure is responsible for recording highly detailed emotional memories during fear?
Quiz
By what percentage did the SCAD tower participants overestimate the duration of their own fall?
Quiz
How long did the free-fall portion of the SCAD tower drop actually last in physical time?
Quiz
Who conducted the famous 2007 SCAD tower free-fall experiment to study time perception during fear?
Quiz
What did philosopher Saint Augustine famously write about the nature of time over 1600 years ago?