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Can time slow down? - Very Interesting Experiment watch!

youtube.com — Theoretical Physicist Michio Kaku investigates claims of time dilation under the influence of Adrenaline and other drugs.

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  • t0ny, on 03/20/2008, -35/+10I would say yes, when I got to go flying in a A1 Skyraider we did a roll and I thought lasted about 20 seconds but when I watched the video I filmed it was about 3 seconds. I was not scared but it was fun :).
    • DucoNihilum, on 03/20/2008, -1/+10Odd, I remember this exact story go on digg a while ago- except it talked about the OPPOSITE results, that it was just a perception of distortion, not an actual distortion. Anyone else remember that?
      • illwil, on 03/20/2008, -0/+6I believe the previous article referenced a similar experience (dropping people who tried to read a number) and the report stated that the results proved that perception did not change.

        Also in that article, they mentioned specifically that they will not consider 'near death experiences' where people claim time slowed. Their argument was that people simply perceive a 'wider range' of information during that moment. The authors said that when those people reflect on their near-death moment they erroneously interpret that extra information as only being possible because time slowed down.
      • Darkhacker, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3They did the same type of experiment with people falling but the subjects were asked how long they *thought* it took them to fall. I know from experience that it's a very poor way of measuring it. My brother for example (who is autistic) has an extremely poor sense of time. He is much like the rat on cocaine. I remember he called home and I told him that the parents were out and to call back in 30 minutes. He called back less than 10 minutes later and continued to call back in very short increments until our parents finally got home.
    • Scynet, on 03/20/2008, -2/+16Bollocks. However, there are situations where time will slow down.

      1. When the speed of an object approaches the speed of light, time slows down.
      2. At higher altitudes. This was in fact tested by making two identical and very accurate clocks and flying the other one in a plane. The time difference between the clocks after a while was noticable, albeit very, very small. Additionally, all GPS satellites have to take this into account or they will show your location off by several feet. So this isn't just pseudo-science, it affects our everyday lives.

      The effect is known as "time dilation", for those interested in finding out more by themselves.

      For starters: http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/ ...
      • Darkhacker, on 03/20/2008, -4/+3This experiment was measuring the effect of time based on chemicals, not physics.
        • Scynet, on 03/20/2008, -1/+2http://science.howstuffworks.com/relativity10.htm
          http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/einsteinlight/jw/modul ...

          "In 1971, J. Haefele and R. Keating took atomic clocks on airliners travelling both East (with the Earth rotating underneath them: we could call these "slow frames") and West (these planes have the Earth's rotation speed plus their own, and return to where they came from). Apart from some complications due to the gravitational field variations and their acceleration (which are dealt with by general relativity), this is like the twin paradox, and it gave results in agreement with the relativistic prediction."

          Look like you're incorrect, unless you have better sources.
          • TheBrain21, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2True, but the difference was caused due to the plane's motion relative to the Earth's. Whichever atomic clock was on the plane that was moving faster compared to the Earth, was behind in time. The differences where nearly negligible, which is why they had to use atomic clocks. I don't really think altitude has much to do with it. Also, I believe Darkhacker was referring to the video, not the plane experiment.
          • Darkhacker, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Please watch the video next time. That has NOTHING to do with the video. As for me being "incorrect", I do have better sources; the ***** video which very clearly states the effects of time slowing down were based on chemicals like adrenaline, cocaine, and marijuana. This video has absolutely nothing to do with time slowing down due to the laws of physics or motion.
      • Nillerus, on 03/20/2008, -0/+6You're missing the point of the experiment, which I believe Dark was trying to point out to you. The perceived time is what is altered, nobody is messing with relativistic theory. The brain merely functions at a faster rate, thusly slowing down time for the test subject.
      • frazw, on 03/21/2008, -0/+4Why is everyone taking the phrasing so literally? It is talking about the perception of time but on a personal level that is time itself. Is the english language really that hard to decipher? There's this thing called context which can subtly alter meaning.
        ALso I believe it was speed that was a factor not altitude in the plane test.
        • 0xception, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2just a correction to your statement... speed and distance from a massive object are one in the same here. each effect the rate at which time moves from the perspective of the object in question. Being extremely close to a extremely massive object (something with a great amount of gravity) has the same effect on time itself as moving at extremely high speeds does. It's a bit to complicated to explain in detail, specially since I'm no expert. Either way you should look not only at the theory of special relativity but the generalized version as well. general relativity takes it even further.

          As for the rest of the comment, i agree that it's clear from context, but something that should have been avoided when trying to make a "scientific-ish" film... oh well even mythbusters is still entertaining.
        • 0xception, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1... not really a correction, just a thought.
    • raynar, on 03/20/2008, -2/+9Dont forget, when bullets fly at you and you're leaning back, thinking 'I know kung-fu'.
    • rentmitchum, on 03/21/2008, -0/+4One time I tried watching Birth. It took like 42 years. I didn't even make it to the end.
    • randysouth, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1If you want to slow down time, we could watch Rita Rudner do a 5 minute routine.
  • inajeep, on 03/20/2008, -8/+396Just saw the Discovery channel series on the body using this method. It's not time that slows down, it's your brain over-clocking itself temporarily.

    For a better test, how about using something than numbers so there isn't any confusion?
    • fuhcough, on 03/20/2008, -6/+185Dugg for the use of "over-clocking" to appeal to digg users. ;)
      • jetfuel, on 03/21/2008, -0/+6Eh I think the tech audience is becoming a minority now. I miss those days :(
    • necromancer, on 03/20/2008, -1/+87Yeah, that is a good analogy. It is slowing down and speeding up your perception of time... not time itself.

      So, if the marijuana rat is slower, and the coke rat is faster, if I take both drugs at once, will I be perfectly normal?
      • bittie, on 03/20/2008, -1/+60*head asplodes*
      • aukxsona, on 03/20/2008, -9/+1Yup and it sucks....don't mix pot and drinks.... you won't know if your more stoned or drunk.
      • zorpscorp, on 03/20/2008, -0/+6the coke's effects are waaaay stronger than the weed's, it'd be fast until the coke wore off, then slooow
      • FutureGuy, on 03/20/2008, -10/+15If you take marijuana you will live longer, at least you would think you did.
        • zspade, on 03/20/2008, -0/+23... This was a flawed statement. Technically given that the rat thought 12 seconds had passed when in reality 16 seconds had passed, it actually lost 4 seconds. Likewise, since the cocaine rat thought 12 seconds had passed when only had had, he gained 4 seconds. So, omitting the fact that cocaine would probably kill you sooner, technically the cocaine rat would have thought his life longer.
        • 1randomguyO8, on 03/21/2008, -1/+6Yeah live longer unemployed.
      • mraustin1337, on 03/20/2008, -1/+19Wait wait wait... So you are telling me sex would last more like 40.25 seconds rather than 40? I'm in. Where do I sign to jump?
      • NinjaBoy, on 03/20/2008, -7/+4Its called speed ballin, and try it with heoin and coke....crazy time....crazy time
    • Xanrez, on 03/20/2008, -1/+46To be a little more specific, the brain jumps from seeing the world at 30 frames per second to 60 frames per second. Brain activity is then boosted to help take in all of the new information in life threatening situations. Thus, we perceive time to have slowed down. Perception is reality after all.
      • Terr01, on 03/20/2008, -0/+6I read about this elsewhere and I thought that repeated tests showed no increase in accuracy for reading the numbers while falling versus under normal conditions.

        So whatever capability boost occurred--if any--does not extend to recognizing numbers.

        Do we know that it's not just a panic response changing our perception of the event after the fact?
        • jackyyll, on 03/20/2008, -1/+4Well, you also have to take into account that he knows it isn't really life threatening so his body might not have enough adrenaline for his perception to go up to a level where he can correctly see the number. If it was actually life threatening, or they tricked him "Hey, come stand on this platform and try to read these numbers, we're doing an experiment about altitude and perception! ..... *drop* .... 42!" maybe he could have got it correctly
      • icebrk, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Like Bullet-time ala the Matrix
      • Dax420, on 03/20/2008, -0/+9Good analogy, but your brain doesn't work at 30 frames per second, that's what your TV works at. Anything over 1bout 18 frames per second is perceived by your brain to be "in motion"
        • Terr01, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3True, I think attempts to peg a "frame rate" on the brain are generally inaccurate, because it assumes an artificial, serial model of how vision works: It's a parallel, analog system. We've got bits of brain cells whose main purpose in life is to do things like trigger when we see lines at a 34 degree angle from the vertical.

          Anything you are not directly looking at is really a persistent illusion from when you last looked at it combined with peripheral vision cues.
    • Accolade1, on 03/20/2008, -2/+2Watch the video? This is stated at the very end.
      • trogdoor, on 03/20/2008, -0/+8It is still wildly misleading and sensational for them to talk about "time" slowing down. It's not, they know it, they know that people would take it that way ( at least long enough to hook them ), it's still dishonest and more than anything annoying :)
        • Accolade1, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2They need a catchy title to capture the readers' attention, right? :D
      • fluxion, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1what kinda temps were they getting?
    • RustyJ, on 03/20/2008, -0/+40I tried overclocking my brain, but my cooling fan wasn't big enough and i crashed.
      • Matteos, on 03/20/2008, -0/+7Did you fry your motherboard?
      • aarongzmn, on 03/20/2008, -0/+9Its all about liquid cooling!
        • RustyJ, on 03/21/2008, -0/+8man, i just can't afford that right now, and it's just so expensive to take the case off.
        • Lunarbunny, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Screw liquid, give me a thermo-electric cooler.
      • SlipperyFox, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1try taking a chill pill ;p
    • jun2san, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4I really like the series you mentioned from Discovery Channel. It's called Human Body. It showed the same experiment shown in this youtube video.
    • Tripacer9999, on 03/20/2008, -0/+27CRACK COCAINE SPIDER!
    • IglooBurner, on 03/20/2008, -3/+5i think its funny how they change the tune for each rat thats on a different drug.
      they shoulda played some Bob Marley for the rat on MJ... yeahhhh mon... one love.
    • diabolicdiablo, on 03/20/2008, -0/+5That was pretty interesting. I think it would be more accurate though, if they had a larger group of test subjects.
    • LongShlong, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2This experiment isn't really talking about time slowing down, it's the falling person's perception and reflexes speeding up because of the adrenaline rush. To anybody else, the person will be moving at the exact same speed. If time were to slow down, it would have to mean that the person would be moving in such a way that WE would not be able to perceive him.
    • mraustin1337, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4What would happen if someone injected a large amount of adrenaline into their body? I mean before the heart attack? I wonder how much you could speed up your perception of time. Also I wonder if you could move faster if you perceived time as slower?
    • steeeeve, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1I think these are two entirely different phenomena. For the guy his brain speeds up, so he can make sense of things faster. For the rats the internal clock speeds up or slows down (probably that happens to the guy too, but the video makes a bit of a mess mixing measurements of subjective time passed with recognition speed measurements).
    • 1randomguyO8, on 03/21/2008, -1/+3Maybe use a fast rap which he cant understand.
    • moshinator, on 03/21/2008, -1/+1OMG Rats on drugs.
    • kedarme, on 03/21/2008, -0/+0i agree its really a spin off to believe time slowed down for that person... try driving at 100 mph on a free road(pls observe the law of the land) so many things are more detailed.. my personal experience :P
    • smittyfree, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Anyone who knows anything about General Relativity already knows time is merely our perception of how fast (or slow) events occur.
    • MostlyHarmless, on 03/21/2008, -0/+6I hate to burst everyone's bubble, but this is inaccurate. I work in this lab, and am very familiar with all this research. This was an initial, but unreplicated, finding. Dr. Eagleman (eaglemanlab.net) was able to find that there was no difference in the ability to read the perceptual chronometer during freefall or for controls on the ground, but that, interestingly, when subjects were asked to estimate (with a stopwatch) the duration of another's fall vs the duration of their own, they consistently overestimated their own fall by 30% or more. Thus, it's our retrospective perception of time that is distorted, likely due to some role of adrenaline or additional emotional salience of the memory being recorded. You can check out the study here: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.137 ...

      A more accurate video can be found here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bG6nZY9Bxy0
      • WallsOfPeril, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Amazing that Kaku, and the BBC, would portray this inaccurately. Lame.
        Also if you don't have 5 - 10 minutes to spare, this video relates the whole thing in 90 seconds: http://tinyurl.com/yob9bn
        • MostlyHarmless, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1When they shot this and produced it, that was the interpretation. The study took a fair amount of time to conduct, and the interpretation of results changed as more subjects were tested and the stopwatch task was added. I wouldn't blame BBC/Kaku/Discovery - the study was only published this past December.
    • ssj2119, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Exactly what I was thinking
    • Jawsh91, on 03/21/2008, -0/+3That's awesome, the song where it is showing the Saline rat getting the food pellet is by Four Tet, an awesome electronic band, surprised to see it being used on the BBC.
  • DearSergio, on 03/20/2008, -18/+4***** that, no way would I ever drop from that height.
    • debuggercll, on 03/20/2008, -2/+8What if Fran Drescher was up there with you, laughing? I know I'd do it.
    • ophello, on 03/20/2008, -1/+2pansy
      • Matteos, on 03/20/2008, -0/+5OK, so replace Fran Drescher with Rosie O'Donnell on LSD having a hallucination that you are a chocolate éclair.
        • j3one, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4Not sure weather to digg you up for being creative/funny or down for the horrible mental picture..
    • Myonosken, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2From a great height, From a great heeeiiiight
  • slashbot, on 03/20/2008, -43/+5Time does not slow down when you are high.

    Buried as innacurate
    • macwac, on 03/20/2008, -4/+24Its perception of time, not time itself.
      • bradleyland, on 03/20/2008, -8/+4They why do they keep saying "time slows down" in the video?

        Sensationalist *****.
        • ophello, on 03/20/2008, -1/+3calm down, bruno.
        • fasda, on 03/20/2008, -1/+3well maybe they defined in an earlier segment that time is how people perceive it since people don't have anyway to accurately measure it
    • plundstedt, on 03/20/2008, -4/+10WTFV
    • clearwaterlab, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2Anyone care to guess who has never been high?
  • chanop, on 03/20/2008, -7/+60simpsons did it
  • fuhcough, on 03/20/2008, -11/+199More plausible, I think, is the fact that when you're having an "adrenaline rush", your reflexes are faster and thus your brain's responses to things are much faster. Time never slows - your perception of it does.
    • pastasauce, on 03/20/2008, -1/+4...Unless you have super powers!
    • Accolade1, on 03/20/2008, -4/+8Watch the video much?
      • fuhcough, on 03/20/2008, -5/+1As a matter of fact, no I didn't. Silly me thought "Can time slow down? - Very Interesting Experiment watch! " pretty much summed it up.
        • fasda, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4yes you were in fact silly both experiments shown measured the perception of time by the subject and you would have seen this if you had not assumed that you were an expert in all things from reading the title and watched the video.
        • mraustin1337, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4Watch it. It teaches you how to speed up and slow down time WITH YOUR MIND!
    • Mathieujofis, on 03/20/2008, -2/+5Isn't time just a perception though? maybe.. compare us to something slow moving like a sloth? or fast like a rodent.
      • BenKenobi88, on 03/20/2008, -3/+1No, everybody accelerates toward the Earth at 9.8 m/s/s, doesn't matter if you're a sloth or rodent. Can't perceive it any differently.
        • Neoanarchist, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3That's not time, thats gravity but nice try...
      • fwertz, on 03/20/2008, -1/+2No, time is a unit of measurement, not a perception. It is prompted by our annual journey around the sun, and broken up from there. Outside our small line of orbit, time does not exist.
        • fleischkopf, on 03/21/2008, -1/+2no, time is not a unit of measurement. hours, days, months, etc. are units of measurement of time. of course, these measurements only apply to the rotation of the earth and wouldn't really apply elsewhere in the universe.
    • Neoanarchist, on 03/20/2008, -1/+3Seeing as how time is a human entity in that time doesn't really exist, as our perception changes, so does time. For instance, prove yesterday happened without referencing any of your senses (the brain can supplement or fake sensory input). So if we perceive things at a quicker rate than before, time is thus slower because more information is taken in the same amount of time and our frame of reference is now different. Also, like Accolade said, the movie explains that its the mind perceiving things faster if you watch even just half of it, which you apparently didn't do.
    • 80hd, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2The impulse shock from rapidly accelerating would cause your eyes to shift which may be enough to cause visual separation and of the number and the background illumination.

      This is similar to the separation of colors that some people see on DLP sets. As your eyes move, elements illuminated at unique moments in time become visually separated. Just as eye movement causes some people to see a 'rainbow' of colors, this subject could recognize rapidly strobing numbers.
    • Maver1c, on 03/20/2008, -0/+8That was the whole point of the video..
    • andresthor, on 03/20/2008, -1/+4lmao.
      The amount of up diggs your post has is a good indicator of how many people decide to share their opinions on something they didn't even watch.
    • marksven, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1I'd like to see the rest of the documentary, but after reading some one Dr. Kaku's books, I'm pretty sure the point he is trying to make is that we still don't understand what the hell time is or how it works. In fact, it may be only our brain's perception of time that makes it seem to flow into the future.
    • h4mx0r, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1It's Max Payne's bullet time!
    • aMammoth, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2Meh, time does actually speed up and slow down due to relativity. The GPS satellites actually have to account for it, even though they have atomic clocks.
    • lebreezy, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Perception is reality, thus your perception can cause time to change for you or for those who are experiencing the same state of mind. Kind of the same topic, but a really funny read any way http://www.salvia.net/exp_dan.htm
  • LimboTheLaw, on 03/20/2008, -4/+329Anyone who thinks time can't slow down has never done 48 minutes on a Stairmaster.
    • JPepp8, on 03/20/2008, -0/+111If I was told I only had 24 hours left to live, I would want to spend it in an economics class. That way, it would seem twice as long.
      • beankitty, on 03/20/2008, -7/+4HAHAHAHA SO TRUE
      • fasda, on 03/20/2008, -3/+4I recommend Organic chemistry or physics then it could go for 3 or maybe even 4 times
      • unionaire, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Also you don't want to have sex in that 24 hour, that will make your life 1/10 as long.
      • nonstop87, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2Try being Jack Bauer for a day :D
    • Lasereth, on 03/20/2008, -1/+10You're so right. 30 minutes on an elliptical feels like 2 hours!! I hate that crap.
    • aukxsona, on 03/20/2008, -2/+7I had to laugh....48 minutes on a stair master is equivalent to a year in hell for me...but hey I got great tunes.
      • mraustin1337, on 03/20/2008, -1/+1Wow. What kind of music do you listen to?
    • WraTH017, on 03/20/2008, -1/+5Truer words have never been spoken.
    • XBunnyRacer, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1I always say that when you feel like life is passing you by too quickly.. get on a treadmill.. there is nowhere on Earth where time passes slower..
    • HigherLogic, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1If you really want to slow time down, take some mushrooms. A minute can feel like forever...
    • LucasKane, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Cardio is the X Factor
    • AmICoolNow, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1There was a character in Catch 22 that would ensure that he was as bored as possible at all times so time would pass more slowly and he would live for the longest amount of time he could. Can't argue with that logic.
  • sockpuppets, on 03/20/2008, -16/+91I experienced this when I was shot at- I could actually see things I shouldn't have, it was very matrix-like.
    • xkingADROCKx, on 03/20/2008, -28/+6Sure, of you course you did....
      • sockpuppets, on 03/20/2008, -2/+25I'm serious. I went into this at length in a previous discussion about this in a similar thread here on Digg. The guy killed my best friend but I survived. He's now on California death row.

        Edit: here's the link:
        http://digg.com/general_sciences/Teach_Your_Brain_ ...

        "I've actually experienced this, although I was calling it "time dilation" because I didn't know what else to call it. While I cannot comment on the ability to create this effect "at will" it is a very real experience. Mine occurred when I was shot at- my friend was killed and my life was next. Time came to such a great halt that I was able to see and remember things that otherwise take less than a second to occur- very similar to matrix-like effects. The bullet in midair, the blood in comic-book like projections.

        I've since come to theorize (based on my experience alone) that human beings run at a certain clock rate, ostensibly partially chemically regulated. In an experience like this my brain was programmed to overclock itself to attempt survival. This accounted for more "cycles per second" and thus time felt incredibly slower.

        Definitely a life altering experience."
        • raynar, on 03/20/2008, -19/+2I'm not on death row, i got out. muwahahaha....mr anderson...
        • TomFrost, on 03/20/2008, -0/+11"I'm not on death row..." Dude, have some respect.

          That's really fascinating, sock. While I'd never in a million years want to go through what you did, that experience intrigues me. And I'd imagine it also helped you, as you're here to talk to us today.
        • xkingADROCKx, on 03/20/2008, -0/+19Apologies, for my original response.
        • Steeple, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1seriously, happy to hear you're here
      • fcrow, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Interresting stuff, wonder what uses it can have.
    • saulimus, on 03/20/2008, -1/+42I also experienced this when I was hit by a car when I was young.
      The moment just before hitting the car felt much longer for me.
      It was like the scene was on pause for a short time.
    • LimboTheLaw, on 03/20/2008, -1/+38I experienced this when I fell down a flight of stairs. I guess the fear and adrenalin sends your brain and all 5 senses into overdrive. 30 years later, I can still remember the smell of the stairs as I fell in slow motion.
      • djepik, on 03/20/2008, -0/+24Dare I ask what stairs smell like?
        • Walker2323, on 03/20/2008, -0/+16Feet
        • LimboTheLaw, on 03/20/2008, -0/+11I could smell wood which smelled warm and the dirty, worn granite slabs which smelled cold and hard. Really wierd to put into words, but I still remember it and the fall took less than 2 seconds.
    • unknamed, on 03/20/2008, -2/+72This correlates with my theory that right before we die our perception of time slows exponentially as the terminal moment draws nearer. Hence the phrase "my life flashed before my eyes". Like each moment seems to take twice as long as the previous moment so the final terminal moment is never reached, maybe our consciousness trying to preserve itself by infinitely slowing our perception of time.

      Woooo.... time for another bowl.
    • insomniacal, on 03/20/2008, -0/+8Great example. I remember crashing down a hill on my bike when I was a kid -- as you said, I saw everything unfold in slow-motion, can still see it to this day.
    • psdabfm, on 03/20/2008, -3/+82Yeah, I remember when I rode off a cliff on a burning motorcycle while being shot at by a helicopter, time really slowed down. I still remember the color of the pilot's eyes.
      • dumpyhumpy, on 03/20/2008, -2/+43I remember that too. I can still taste his eyes.
      • LimboTheLaw, on 03/21/2008, -4/+3ROFLMFAO
      • JoeJim, on 03/21/2008, -0/+22By the fifth or sixth time this happened to me, it had almost no impact on my time perception. And I was all out of motorcycles.
      • JusticeFriend, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2Who are you? James Bond or something?
        • Gunegune, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Actually this is more like Jason Bourne or maybe Jack Bauer. Same initials though. Then again his avatar suggest he is part of "anonymous" so maybe this really did happen.
    • Iamironman, on 03/21/2008, -0/+15I experienced this when I used to smoke, i cannot even tell you how long food seemed to take in the microwave...
      • GliTCH82, on 03/21/2008, -4/+3See, that's what I'm saying. But according to the video, the rat thought 12 seconds had passed when 16 seconds actually passed, which can be reduced to a ratio of 3/4, so that means what's supposed to happen is you put your food in for 3 minutes, let's say, but when you go check on it you find out it's been 4 minutes and your food's been ready for a whole minute. So that's why I'm calling ***** on those lab experiments, because I almost always check it like a minute early.
        • GliTCH82, on 03/21/2008, -1/+2Yeah, go ahead, bury me without even thinking about it. For those too lazy to read I'm agreeing with lamironman here but the point I'm making is the video doesn't agree with us, it's saying that we would check the food much much later after it's done, just like the rat hit the button 16 seconds in instead of 12 seconds in. Why's that so hard to understand?
        • Kanidia, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Sorry, but you're not very coherent. We didn't read your previous comments, so you might want to elaborate. For the record, there were multiple experiments where the mouse was too fast, and too slow as well.
    • LostAngeles, on 03/21/2008, -1/+4So what you're saying is, you dodged the bullets?
    • univerio, on 03/21/2008, -1/+3I'll take the bullet here...

      How can Digg users be shot at... if they don't even go outside?
  • digitallysick, on 03/20/2008, -11/+6Time is a man created measurement. No way anything you could do, would stop the man made measurement counter.
    • JPepp8, on 03/20/2008, -3/+5 If you travel at the speed of light for a year, it would seem as if no time had past. Although, everyone back on earth would think that you had been gone for a year. Time is relative.
      • daRoach, on 03/20/2008, -0/+7I think you got that wrong, it's more like; If you travel away from the earth for 6 months at the speed of light and then traveled back to earth at the speed of light, one year would have passed for you, though thousands of years would have passed on earth. Watch "Planet of the Apes". The original one, not the crappy remake.
    • 80hd, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Time is both absolute and perceptive.
      Sleeping vs. waiting in a lobby have very different perceptions of time. The more aware you are, the longer things seem to take and adrenaline enhances this effect. Though I do disagree with the method of study here....
  • dissurmom, on 03/20/2008, -5/+33It's not at all about time slowing down... It's about our perception. The brain, under certain stressful situations, is more active allowing more information to be processed. To put it another way, under normal conditions, we see the world at ~32 frames per second... Under life threatening situations, this is increased giving the illusion of time slowing.
    • ChayD, on 03/20/2008, -1/+2Nice analogy
    • Accolade1, on 03/20/2008, -4/+6Again, this is clearly stated in the video..
      • shadeOfGrey, on 03/20/2008, -3/+7No it's not. The video keeps referring to time slowing down. It has nothing to do with time, only perception.
        • simg, on 03/20/2008, -1/+1yes, but the video is either being a) sensationalist or b) retarded or probably a mix of both.
        • Accolade1, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Did you even bother to watch the end of it or did you just see the first three seconds?
    • SocialPoison, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1But isn't time perception in the first place?
    • 80hd, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4I really disagree with the method of research here though.

      They are trying to see if adrenaline or at least a threatening situation causes an increase in perception. Unfortunately they are failing to account for the fact that the impulse shock from rapidly accelerating would cause your eyes to shift which may be enough to cause visual separation and of the number and the background illumination - thus increasing your perception because of strobophobic effects and not necessarily due to an increased resolution of time measurement.

      This is similar to the separation of colors that some people see on DLP sets. As your eyes move, elements illuminated at unique moments in time become visually separated. Just as eye movement causes some people to see a 'rainbow' of colors, this subject could recognize rapidly strobing numbers if the projection.

      A better example yet is that of moving LED displays. When the motion of a rotating LED display is stopped, all that is seen is a grid of leds that have a slight flicker to them. But when the display moves, persistence of vision causes distinct shapes to form.
    • QuirozB, on 03/20/2008, -2/+3More frames per second would not give the perception that time has slowed down, but instead just less information our brain is filling in between frames. Just a smoother looking world.
      • junkwheel, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2There are more factors to the human brain than there is to a computer running WOW.
        • dpv1, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Yeah, the brain in a stressful situation will have more "cycles per second" or faster chemical reactions. Our consciousness will perceive more in more "cycles" per physical second than normal. Thus, less stuff is going to happen per your brain cycle, just like less stuff happens in WOW per frame at higher frame rates.

          In other works, if one is going to make a comparison, brain could be compared to LCD display. Stuff looks smooth on LCDs with high and low response times. However, stuff looks less blurry on an LCD with higher response time. Except that LCDs don't have consciousness to perceive.
    • eightballrj, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2So THAT'S why we pay for SLI. Time SLOWS down in order to render Crysis. Crysis is actually not rendering in real time. AH HA, mystery solved!
    • dougrochford, on 03/22/2008, -0/+0On my LCD monitor, which can display images up to 75 Frames Per second, I can clearly tell the difference between 20, 30, 40, 50 , 60, and 75 frames per second. I can see, under normal circumstances, at least 60 frames per second, if not 75 or even more. I can directly tell the difference between 50 and 75 frames per second.
  • moolaismyfriend, on 03/20/2008, -8/+3Very cool. I am amazed. When this person is essentially about to die their brain goes into like a super man mode, slowing time down so they can react more quickly. I wonder if we would be able to control this.
    • aukxsona, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4Yes, with cocain or ADD meds. Hence why kids on college use it so much.
      • danielsan1701, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Hence why?
      • oneoverzero, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1actually, in the doses that ADD meds are taken, that effect would be negligable. The reason that ADD meds are taken is that they increase the reception of neurotransmitters.

        However, if they were taken in a higher dose (probably 100mg+, but i'm just guessing), then it would do what you said.
    • burrgrinder, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excitotoxicity

      Overstimulating your neurons for a prolonged period is harmful. Unless they figure out how to prevent Calcium ions from flooding your neurons, I doubt there will be much control.
    • simg, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1yes, get yourself into a very dangerous situation.
      you will be amazed what you are capable of ... :)
  • 30r05, on 03/20/2008, -1/+25He should have used a number other than 6 in the second test if he wanted it to be more distinguishable.
    • 80hd, on 03/20/2008, -2/+6Anybody else wonder if persistence of vision is interfering with what is being measured? How do we know that falling isn't causing enough eye motion that strobophobic effects could be enhancing shape recognition. It's extremely plausible that this is a fluke of visual perception and has nothing to do with time dilation.
      • JoeJim, on 03/21/2008, -0/+3Why was this comment buried? It was a thoughtful suggestion, and was something no one else considered as a possibility.
    • SysstemLord, on 03/22/2008, -0/+142?
  • Extraneous, on 03/20/2008, -10/+5Too much *clapclap* time on my hands!
  • bincoder, on 03/20/2008, -3/+95Time slows down for me when the traffic light goes green and I have to wait 10 minutes for the ones in the front to figure out what 'Go' means...
    • ChayD, on 03/20/2008, -2/+1Reminds me of a New York minute.
    • RustyJ, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Ever been to cincinnati? It sounds like it.
  • beersnob, on 03/20/2008, -15/+7Buried for inaccurate/misleading headline. Time isn't slowing down...it is the perception of time that seems to be changing.
    • moolaismyfriend, on 03/20/2008, -1/+12thanks pal, you saved the day
    • raynar, on 03/20/2008, -2/+3jesus, can't you people read the comments before you post? Everyone else has already had the epihany that time isnt slowing down, its your perception...*****.
  • Rizmaster, on 03/20/2008, -10/+35Time is a persistent illusion. Anyone who knows basic physics can tell you that.
    • greevar, on 03/20/2008, -2/+3Time is not an illusion. Time is relative.
    • burrgrinder, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Beyond that, perception is relative to each individual. Drugs can alter that even further.
    • Bakagamer, on 03/20/2008, -0/+8... Lunchtime doubly so.
      • secondplayer, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1I think I love you. It's more probable that I just like what you said way too much.
    • aMammoth, on 03/21/2008, -0/+4not really, time can be sped up or slowed down, and it can be measured, it is not an illusion.
    • junkwheel, on 03/21/2008, -1/+3Time is a dimension, not an illusion.
      • Frenzy44, on 03/21/2008, -2/+2time is not the 4th dimension. it may be easy for people with limited knowledge of physics to think of something they don't understand to be a dimension. this is in the same terms as perceiving mass to be a dimension. Digg.. will you please pick up a hawkings book, any of them will do.
        • melonade, on 03/21/2008, -2/+2But time IS a the fourth dimension. But when we say a fourth dimension, we really mean the 3 normal dimensions, plus a timeline.
    • sfazzio, on 03/21/2008, -0/+5Your knowledge of physics is an illusion (albeit a poor one). Time is just as real as space, mass, charge, or any other fundamental quantity in physics.
  • capiCrimm, on 03/20/2008, -7/+29bit misleading, the brain is speeding up, nothing to do with time.
    • jun2san, on 03/20/2008, -1/+2Perhaps our perception of time.
    • marksven, on 03/20/2008, -1/+1What will really bake your noodle is that the flow of time may not exist at all. Instead, it may be our brain's perception of time only that makes is real for us. There is nothing yet discovered in physics that explains why time only moves forwards, or even if it flows at all.
      • capiCrimm, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1here's something to bake your noodle too, nothing in science or philosophy has yet to prove your brain actually exists, let alone time or reality.
    • jeffdjohnson, on 03/20/2008, -1/+3actually, that experiment didn't work, so it provides no basis for saying that the brain is speeding up.
  • Kenzan, on 03/20/2008, -8/+3This isn't a theory.
    It has already been proven to be true by previous experiments.
    Time slows down for the actor as they approach the speed of light.
  • vertexoflife, on 03/20/2008, -8/+3Short answer: no.
    • OhROFL, on 03/20/2008, -1/+4Wrong. Gravity changes time. Relativity much? You are an idiot. This study, however, has nothing to do with that.
      • Betrayer, on 03/20/2008, -2/+1and i suppose you think gravity is sucking us into the center of the earth when its really pushing us down.

        remember; everything we think we know today will be proven to be wrong in the future, just as history has shown.
        • mateusap, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3i've just realized you're wrong, making you right at the same time, nice to meet you, schroedinger's cat.
    • mateusap, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1*****, i was going to post that :(

      Poor cocaine rat.
  • Motif31G, on 03/20/2008, -16/+5another interesting experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU
    • ZombieKiss, on 03/20/2008, -1/+7jfc - get a new ***** URL -- EVERYONE recognizes the uuiU
    • BrettSchu, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1I think you meant to post that on 4chan. I would have thought digg users were above that.
    • Waskonator, on 03/20/2008, -1/+2http://x.cursedsanctuary.com/
      Also, good 'experiment', but I wouldn't click it if I were you.
    • max420, on 03/20/2008, -1/+2Damnit, I still fell for it. I even saw the uuiU, but clicked on it anyway.
    • insomniacal, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Got me too. Ugh.
      I remember that stupid video, even the detective coat. That dates me.
  • Mier, on 03/20/2008, -1/+37I think this whole thing is misleading. The coke rat should be trying to get to a trade floor somewhere and the weed rat should be trying to post on Digg about the benefits of hemp.
    • dpazar2, on 03/20/2008, -2/+11Coke rat wants to SELL SELL SELL and the weed rat wants to buuuuyyy buuuuuyyyyy buyyyyy sommmeee buuuudddd mannnnn cuuuuzzzz itttsss aaat aa goood prriiiccceee
    • pacopaitz, on 03/21/2008, -0/+3The marijuana rat made a hammock.
      • FatLoser, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2Which he lay in all day and lazily watched the coke rat.
  • iamthejeff, on 03/20/2008, -3/+45It's called time dilation, and its is an absolutely real quirk of the universe we live in. There is no absolute measurement of time, it is completely relative to the observer.

    I realize this has nothing to do with the experiment, but oh well.
    • stklaw, on 03/21/2008, -0/+3Boss: "You're late."
      Guy: "I'm not late, you're just on cocaine!"
    • melonade, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1But it does have something to do with it. Since time is completely relative to the observer, then it is possible that it is different for everybody and susceptible to change via drugs, near-death experiences, etc.
  • MaleMaldives, on 03/20/2008, -8/+7time isn't slowing down. you are thinking faster.
  • cl2yp71c, on 03/20/2008, -0/+12The rats remind me of some buddies of mine.
    • lebreezy, on 03/21/2008, -2/+1***** ***** ***** *****...WHAT THE ***** WAS THAT!?
    • unicornpaco, on 03/21/2008, -1/+0with you on the saline?
  • nusuni, on 03/20/2008, -2/+20Michio Kaku does the best shows on Discovery. Hands down. None of the other shows even come close. They need to give him a regular weekly show to do on there, now!
    • peregrine, on 03/20/2008, -1/+14I love Michio Kaku. That guy can talk about anything and it makes me want to learn.
    • RedHerringHack, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2Michio rocks. He has a radio show you know?
    • JusticeFriend, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Michio rizo
  • ChaoticCheez, on 03/20/2008, -3/+30Morpheus: What is real? How do you define real? If you're talking about your senses, what you feel, taste, smell, or see, then all you're talking about are electrical signals interpreted by your brain.
  • 31073, on 03/20/2008, -1/+2adrenaline fueled memories are more vivid and detailed so it could be a result of remembering something at (the brains equivalent of) a greater frames per second rate.
  • EwMo, on 03/20/2008, -0/+56Dugg for the rat on cocaine. That thing was goin' nuts. and the Marijuana rat was just sitting there doing nothing haha. Predictable, but for some reason it was still funny
  • bromac, on 03/20/2008, -2/+5Time is relative from the position of the observer.
  • PRlME, on 03/20/2008, -4/+22A bag of flower fell out the top shelf towards my head the other day, as it fell i did read that it was a 5 pound bag of all purpose flower.
    After losing conciseness, a few minutes later i woke up knowing what I had to be done. So the next day I signed up to the local gym, every thing has been ok since then.
    • aukxsona, on 03/20/2008, -0/+5LOL
    • asskicker32, on 03/20/2008, -0/+7I dont know why they are digging you down. I rofled
    • kipmartin, on 03/20/2008, -2/+1Did the bag of flower end up the flor? Your conciseness was not lost, you just did not know what you had to be done. Glad every thing has been ok.
    • driftwood07, on 03/20/2008, -1/+2lolwut
  • Ndiggnation, on 03/20/2008, -1/+8I don't know about the experiment above, but time can and does slow down as your velocity increases and approaches the speed of light. It's imperceptible to us, as our fastest speeds are only infinitesimal fractions of the speed of light. Also, Michio Kaku generally knows what he's talking about.

    http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikijunior:How_Things ... Famous clock experiment.
  • rancemo, on 03/20/2008, -0/+29Cocaine rat has become quite angry.
  • danielombardi, on 03/20/2008, -1/+6They say that "time seems to have ground to a hault" for the rat on marijuana. But I think that the rats perception on marijuana would seem like time is going faster since he is slower in reaction. If I am tired and haven't slept well I am slower mentally and yet the hands on the clock seem to move too fast. If I'm well rested and having a great day I am moving and thinking faster therefor time seems to move slower around me.
    • Kyrgizion, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1I definitely feel like time goes by faster when I've smoked weed. I mean, at the time of the actual experience, everything feels mellow and sluggish (in a relaxing, fun kind of way), kinda like trying to wade through molasses but not as strong. Then after the high wears off (~2 hours) I'm invariably surprised that so much time has already passed.
  • FeargusMcDuff, on 03/20/2008, -2/+2How can this prove time slowed down, surely both objects would slow down equally, if time were slowing the subjects brain would be working slower to compliment the numbers refreshing quicker. The only explanation is (shock) the brain works better in peril.
    A better experiment would be to drop a giant digital number that cannot be recognised while stationary but when dropped, is readable.
  • sys9five, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4Anybody have links for all 4 segments of the documentary?
    • lebreezy, on 03/21/2008, -3/+1Yeah here they are...Link 1,2,3, and 4- YOUR A LOOOOOOOOOOOOSER lol
  • drmobutu, on 03/20/2008, -0/+10The government already has time-slowing technology...ever notice how slowly time seems to pass, at the Post Office?
  • camino262, on 03/20/2008, -2/+8Time does not really slow down, just the person's (or rats) PERCEPTION of time changes. If you want to really slow time down, one method is to travel close to the speed of light, called the time dilation effect - discovered by Einstein.
    • Ninjao, on 03/20/2008, -0/+5Pretty much exactly what I was about to say.
      • specialK16, on 03/21/2008, -0/+3Pretty much exactly what was said on the video.
    • junkwheel, on 03/21/2008, -1/+1Time slows down when an object is moving at ANY speed. The outer edge of a CD is younger than the center after it has spun because the outer edge has traveled further.
      • camino262, on 03/21/2008, -1/+1Sorry, but any point on a CD no matter where it is on the CD is always traveling at the same speed. If this were not the case, the rotation of a CD (or record) would have to vary its speed based on where the laser or needle is located to reproduce sound.
        • junkwheel, on 03/21/2008, -1/+1"Sorry, but any point on a CD no matter where it is on the CD is always traveling at the same speed. "

          Wrong.

          "If this were not the case, the rotation of a CD (or record) would have to vary its speed based on where the laser or needle is located to reproduce sound."

          Wrong.

          There is a considerable difference in speed from the outer to the inner area of a record. The compensation for this is in the construction of the record.
        • junkwheel, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1And the compensation for CD's *is* in the speed they are spun depending on where the laser is at.
  • mrinsanity, on 03/20/2008, -2/+3If you really want time to grind to a halt, get some Salvia! I took that stuff once and minutes seemed like years.
    I don't do illegal drugs, but I'm always really fascinated by the different effects they have on the brain and what studying them can tell us about our own physiology.
  • Syugo, on 03/20/2008, -3/+0lol
    High Rat FTW
  • porplem, on 03/20/2008, -8/+1Well that video was a waste of time.

    :P
  • sap959, on 03/20/2008, -2/+4stoned rat is very stoned
  • centran, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2I never saw video of this experiment. I thought it was done with a bungee jump. What is this contraption with the net... that is pretty bad ass. Did they build that for the experiment or is this a "ride" somewhere?
  • etgryphon, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Anybody remember Timetrax...Darien Lambert...This was his skill.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Trax
    • rholland356, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Anyone remember Lambert the Sheepish Lion?
      Yeah, about the same, overall...
    • raynar, on 03/20/2008, -1/+2dugg for timetrax reference. Mia Sara = hot
  • selfdisplaced, on 03/20/2008, -2/+2no. perception of time may be able to to be slowed down, but not time itself.
  • canUdi9it, on 03/20/2008, -1/+7It's about time. Literally.

    But they explained the rat experiment 180 degrees backwards. Drugs like pot or alcohol compress time. The rat on pot thought 16 secs was 12 so time was going faster for him. The ultimate example of time compression is sleep, which can make 8 hours feel like a few minutes. Cocaine expands time for the rat, making 8 seconds seem like 12. Doing a free fall is like taking speed. It speeds up the rate of perception allowing the numbers to be read. Time doesn't slow down, perception speeds up.
    • SteeleJK, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Yeah the rat experiment didn't make sense to me. If someone is on pot time will seem to go by slower. So, a 2 hour movie may seem like 4 hours. So if a task was given to someone to press a button at the 4 hour mark they would press it early. The rat pressed it late on pot. What happened here?
  • Chillbilly, on 03/20/2008, -3/+0Everyone just got Kakued in the face!!
  • replaysMike, on 03/20/2008, -1/+14It bothers me when basic concepts of science are ignored. This isn't proof time slows down - this is proof the brain is more alert and capable of perceiving vision differently when under stress, probably the result of adrenalin.

    It's sort of the equivelant of "If a tree falls down in the forest, and I shoot you - does the tree make a sound?"
    • Myztry, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3If a quantum bit falls over, and nobody observes it, does it actually change state...
      (Quantum science is a bit too much like the 'tree in the forest'...)
    • melonade, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1I totally agree with Mike. It is not as if everybody has their own timeline. We are all on the same one.

      But the distortion of somebody's perception of that timeline is quite possible and experienced every day. Take, for example, how time seems to pass by slowly when you are bored, or how "time flies when you're having fun."

      The only distortion of REAL time is when it experiences gravity.
      • Myztry, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Time is just a measure of relative change. Usually relative to a pendulum (gravity+momentum+friction), gear revolution(spring/battery power+friction),Atomic clock(radio-active decay),electro-chemical signals(organic system), capacitance(electrical counter),etc,etc,etc.
        Time units are a deemed rate of change, and not all change is dependent upon gravity, no matter how nicely it fits into SOME theories.
    • AmICoolNow, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1I think when they say "time slowing down", what they mean to say is "the perception of time slowing down", I don't think that they actually are trying to say that chemicals are time machines.
    • hyperbrand, on 04/14/2008, -0/+1I agree with you Mike, Time is in terms of Physics is a fundamental unit. For us Humans time feels variable and is a very deep concept open to suggestion and speculations. It is indeed the reactions of our brain to make up believe that time slows downs when we are subjected to stressful or life and dead situations. All about survival, overdrive mode, if I may.
  • cosmicr, on 03/20/2008, -3/+1a good example of the perception of time is how a lot of insects have better reflexes than humans do.
    • sandman979, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Dude the reaction time is less because the distance between the stimulus and the brain is less than in a human.
      • melonade, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1While I don't think that cosmicr is correct, I can't be convinced that your idea is the case either.
  • kurtwinter, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4Damn scientists and their damn laws - its not Time its Intelligent Counting.
  • Azriel7, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1The nickname is known as Bullet Time, when you are in situation where you are in danger, everything slows down a bit.

    What have I learned from the discovery channel? I learned that I need to take marijuana at work to make it go faster and cocaine to kick everyones ass in multiplayer games. Thanks discovery channel!

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