It is often said that time passes differently to animals. And it is not without foundation. In fact, there are studies that suggest that they perceive the passage of time faster or even slower: some live the world in slow-motion. But why?
Salamanders and lizards, for example, seem to have a slower perception than dogs and cats. This is because, explains this, this perception depends on the speed with which the brain can process the information that comes to you, some animals being faster than others.
One from 2013 performed on animals of different sizes used light impulses to detect their reaction to these stimuli. The conclusion was that smaller, with faster metabolism, can detect higher frequencies of intermittent lights than the most corpulent and slow animals.
I.e, The smaller animals notice the time more slowlyand that is why they are more agile and faster to act. This is because, when we try, for example, to kill a fly and she turns extremely fast, she had “a lot of time” to deviate in her perception.
Another more recent, from 2022, proves exactly this theory: “We already know that different animals have a perception of the time other than our“Said the main author, Kevin Health, to.
Through a similar test, the authors found that the starfish (Acanthaster Planci) is the one that detects changes at a slower rhythmregistering only three flashes every 4 seconds – less than one per second. “In your world, everything is just a blur,” said the investigator.
On the other hand, the dragonflies are the ones who most quickly realize the changes in their environment, detecting 300 flashes per second – almost five times faster than humans and 400 times faster than the starfish. “It’s almost like bullet time em Matrix“. Picking a dragonfly is therefore a Herculean task.
According to Science Focus, some animals still seem to be able to increase or decrease your time experience to adapt to your needs. Before leaving for hunting, some spadiated fish, for example, increase blood flow to the brain.
The champions are the flying animals, which is why it is so difficult to kill a fly. Researcher Kevin Health sums up: “If it flies, you see faster“.
