The Deceptive Watchman - How Our Brains Twist Time

Explore the fascinating world of time perception in this 84-minute conference talk from the World Science Festival's Big Ideas series. Delve into the intricacies of our internal clocks as neuroscientists Lila Davachi, Dean Buonomano, David Eagleman, and Kia Nobre discuss groundbreaking research on how our brains manipulate our sense of time. Discover why a second doesn't always feel like a second, how fear and excitement can alter our temporal experience, and the role memory plays in our perception of time. Investigate phenomena such as the holiday paradox, déjà vu, and the relationship between time and causality. Learn about innovative experiments, including the defibrillation simulation test, that shed light on the elasticity of time in our minds. Gain insights into the physiological aspects of time perception and ponder whether time moves forward or backward in our consciousness. This thought-provoking discussion, hosted by John Hockenberry, challenges our understanding of time and offers a deeper appreciation for the complexities of human cognition.

John Hockenberry's Introduction.
A percussive demonstration.
What is it about time that is elastic in our minds?
Participant Introductions.
What kind of clocks are in our brains?
How does our perception require time?
How does the brain understand what is now?
How does memory play into the time in our head?
The defibrillation simulation test.
The fear factor of experiments.
The holiday paradox.
Physiologically do we add more time than we have?
Temporal order is needed to explain causality.
The time interruption of Deja Vu.
Is physical reaction time only physical?
Is time forward or backwards?
Are you typically late or on time?