# When time appears to slow down **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 12, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542 "2025-06-12T20:09:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/1 "2025-06-12T20:09:41Z")
I have been a mechanic most of my life on both vehicles and machinery. I learned very early on not to be intimidated by a piece of high speed production equipment. If I watch it long enough and watch enough cycles I will soon memorize the sequence of every move it makes which has the effect of making it appear to be moving in slow motion and allowing me to examine more intricate details while it is running a full speed. My hobby has been primarily archery and I will often watch slow motion videos taken with high speed cameras of arrows leaving the bow. I will very often watch them about a dozen times which gives me a pretty good feel for the shot but not as much detail as I would like. I had one particular video that really caught my attention recently. I decided to apply that same logic to just watching it until it clicked. After about 50 views I started seeing things I never saw before little details. Going to wait till tomorrow and view it so more. Is there a name for this phenomena? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/2 "2025-06-12T20:26:46Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Is there a name for this phenomena? I like the word “chronoception” which I’ve seen used to describe the effect cannabis has on time perception. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/3 "2025-06-12T20:30:59Z")
As a teenager I was _almost_ in a car accident (I was the driver). There was maybe 3-5 seconds in there where time really slowed down for me. I was thinking of a lot of things in that tiny space of time. I was fortunate I came out unscathed (no accident, no one was hurt although it was scary for all involved). If time had not slowed down for me like that I think the chances are the accident would have happened and would have been very serious…if not death then life altering…either was very possible. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/4 "2025-06-12T20:36:53Z")
Yes that’s a very good example. I get a little bit of that when I drop something and have to catch it real quick just the right way. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/5 "2025-06-12T20:39:14Z")
Some googling indicates that the term is “bradysensia” (slow senses in Latin, more or less). I can’t find an official cite however. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/6 "2025-06-12T20:43:44Z")
I’ve often wondered if those who are really, really exceptional at some sports (say Jordan at basketball) are, at least partially, as good as they are because their perception of time is a little slower than everyone else? Not all of why they are great but it’s that little extra something they got that others do not seem to have. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/7 "2025-06-12T20:45:13Z")
It seems like you’re experiencing the chronosynclastic infundibulum, a point or place where all subjective truths converge, and all possible interpretations of reality harmonize. ⏳ ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/8 "2025-06-12T20:47:49Z")
Yes that’s a good point maybe it’s just described the level of focus that some people are capable of. When we have no choice we’re all pretty good at it I think ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/9 "2025-06-12T20:49:16Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’ve often wondered if those who are really, really exceptional at some sports (say Jordan at basketball) are, at least partially, as good as they are because their perception of time is a little slower than everyone else? It’s my understanding that their advantage is that their perception is well trained enough that they perceive things quicker than other people, and start reaction before they do. There have been experiments where top game players of various sorts were shown images of games for a shorter period than can be consciously perceived, but were still able to give a good description of the image. Basically, by the time you _see_ what’s happening, they’ll have already started _reacting._ ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/10 "2025-06-12T21:14:04Z")
If you accidentally touch a hot stove, time speeds up… if you are chatting to an attractive person, time slows down. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/11 "2025-06-12T21:52:35Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > After about 50 views I started seeing things I never saw before little details. Going to wait till tomorrow and view it so more. Is there a name for this phenomena? Epiphanic moments of realization? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/12 "2025-06-12T22:16:20Z")
> [@glee](#): > > If you accidentally touch a hot stove, time speeds up… > if you are chatting to an attractive person, time slows down. Einstein’s purported quote is said to be "Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. **THAT’S relativity.”** ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/13 "2025-06-13T13:00:31Z")
I’ve read that the experience of “time slowing down” is actually the experience of “remembering every single detail of the action”, so I’m not surprised that “remembering every single detail of the action” is the same as “time slowing down”. For me, it was the experience of having a detonator about to go off at eye level. I can remember s-l-o-w-l-y dropping my head, and s-l-o-w-l-y bringing my arms up over my eyes. I got a couple of shards of aluminum, including one in my arm. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/14 "2025-06-13T13:27:00Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > As a teenager I was _almost_ in a car accident (I was the driver). There was maybe 3-5 seconds in there where time really slowed down for me. I was thinking of a lot of things in that tiny space of time. As a 21 year old I was in a car accident, and I was driving. My girlfriend and I were on a trip to a cabin in northern Michigan. We were on a road with one lane in each direction and a 55mph speed limit. A car going the other direction suddenly veered into our lane. I made a sharp right to avoid a head-on collision, then a left to get back onto the lane. I remember it all happening in slow motion and narrating the experience in my head the whole time-- first “nice, I avoided a terrible accident and all is well-- on with the trip!” But the maneuver I made at that speed caused the car to start skidding out of control and I thought “uh oh, we may not get out of this unscathed after all”. We skidded across the opposite lane and I thought “good thing there’s not another car coming in that direction. We can still skid to a stop and hopefully all will be well”. Then we skidded all the way into a ditch on the other side of the road, flipped over and the windshield blew out, scattering chunks of safety glass into my face and I thought “ok, this is happening. So much for our romantic trip”. Despite ending up with the car upside down, we were both fine thanks to safety belts. I was picking tiny pieces of safety glass out of my eyes hours later, though. > [@Melbourne](#): > > For me, it was the experience of having a detonator about to go off at eye level. I can remember s-l-o-w-l-y dropping my head, and s-l-o-w-l-y bringing my arms up over my eyes. I got a couple of shards of aluminum, including one in my arm. Care to elaborate? This sounds like a heck of a story. Were you a bomb defusal expert? Did you cut the red wire instead of the blue wire? 😮 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/15 "2025-06-13T13:56:26Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Basically, by the time you _see_ what’s happening, they’ll have already started _reacting._ One common statement about Wayne Gretzky was that he generally was skating to where the puck was going to be. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/16 "2025-06-13T14:33:49Z")
I would imagine boxers have a very well developed reaction time compared to most other sports. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/17 "2025-06-14T00:38:35Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Care to elaborate? And spoil the story? It was a engineering training course. The instructor had wired two electric detonators together, one of which had a chemical delay, When he demonstrated the blasting machine, the first detonator went off, pulling up the second detonator. They are dangerous in the same way that firecrackers are, (can take your fingers off) and I was too close. In retrospect, he should have known better, and probably did know better, but we were young, and from the advantage point of my old age, he wasn’t much older than us. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/18 "2025-06-14T00:43:23Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > It seems like you’re experiencing the chronosynclastic infundibulum, a point or place where all subjective truths converge, and all possible interpretations of reality harmonize. “Have you ever transcended space and time?” ''No. Yes. Uh, time not space. No. I have no idea what you’re talking about." ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/19 "2025-06-14T00:49:30Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’ve often wondered if those who are really, really exceptional at some sports (say Jordan at basketball) are, at least partially, as good as they are because their perception of time is a little slower than everyone else? Not all of why they are great but it’s that little extra something they got that others do not seem to have. This is well described by [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi) as the state of [“Flow”.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)) Many people, if they’re lucky, experience this in some way as an athlete or in other activities. As I recall, Csikszentmihalyi studied it among surgeons and other professionals. But the OP is describing something a bit different, I think. I’ve had similar moments which I ascribe to intense interest in an activity, concentration and maybe a little “talent” for spotting nuance. A friend once watched me quickly learn a skill in this way and remarked on it. It’s just what I do (or did, at the time). ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542/20 "2025-06-14T00:51:58Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Basically, by the time you _see_ what’s happening, they’ll have already started _reacting._ Cleary demonstrated by 1980’s arcade game players. The same is no doubt true of modern video game players, but you can’t see it the same way you could with 80’s arcade games, where the play was simpler and more repetitive. And since I was a mid-level player, I could see that whatever they had, I didn’t have. And it wasn’t just practice. I could demonstrate what was required, they took it to another level. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-time-appears-to-slow-down/1019542.md?page=2)