PLoS Biol April 2016 PMID 27070777

Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept?

Michael H Herzog, Thomas Kammer, Frank Scharnowski

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Peak: 8 in Sep 2020

across 7 sources since Apr 2016

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What people are saying

Discussions include references to the theory's implications, such as questions about modeling perception with transformers and debates over whether perception is truly discrete. The tone varies from curiosity to skepticism, with words like 'complicated' and 'interesting,' reflecting active engagement and recognition of potential significance.

AgreementModerate agreement

Most discussions express curiosity and some support for the ideas presented, though there are some questions about how perception works.

InterestHigh interest

The discussions demonstrate high curiosity, with many posts reflecting a desire to explore the implications of discrete perception.

EngagementHigh engagement

Postings show deep engagement, with references to models, theories, and comparisons to neural mechanisms, indicating active thinking.

ImpactModerate impact

While some posts suggest the theory challenges existing beliefs, the overall influence of the discussion seems moderate, sparking interest but not yet widespread application.

Abstract in brief

The text explains that our perception of the world is not a continuous flow but happens in discrete "time slices," similar to how movies are made up of individual frames.
It suggests that subconscious processes analyze object features like color and duration rapidly and continuously, but conscious awareness only updates in separate moments, sometimes with a delay of hundreds of milliseconds.
This framework helps explain how we can perceive the world as fast and seamless despite the underlying perceptual process being more like a series of snapshots.]

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All mentions

Understanding Perception Through Discrete Time Slices in Consciousness

Our perception of the world occurs in discrete "time slices," similar to movie frames. This explains how subconscious processes analyze features rapidly, while conscious awareness updates in separate moments, sometimes…

Vsauce2 · Apr 22, 2016 2,505,728 views

Understanding Perception in Discrete Time Slices and Its Impact on Reality

Our perception of the world occurs in discrete time slices, much like movie frames, rather than continuously. Subconscious processes analyze features rapidly, while conscious awareness updates in moments, which can…

李白尼的猜想 · Apr 14, 2025 59,583 views

Kevin Mitchell

@WiringTheBrain · X

@seanmcarroll This one's great too! Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept? https://t.co/zd71sheWCq

Jul 29, 2024 · 5 likes · 40,314 followers View post →

Paul Harland

@PabloRedux · X

RT @WiringTheBrain: @drmichaellevin Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept? https://t.co/zd71sheoMS

Sep 27, 2023 · 10 shares · 2,140 followers View post →

Tyler Kleinbauer

@TylerKleinbauer · X

Conscious perception isn't continuous, it's discrete, like a movie Each still image seems to be the integration of everything that happened in the previous 400ms. https://t.co/JI4OAuRoRj

Jul 11, 2023 · 188 followers View post →

Andrew Hider

@ahider · X

Could conscious rendering, as proposed by this theory, potentially be modelled in a transformer network, and tested? Measures of gestalt conscious states now, post GPT4, have greater practical value. https://t.co/bqxwnXi0Br

Apr 29, 2023 · 1,139 followers View post →

ENTROPÓLOGO

@antropocomplejo · X

@umbertoleon https://t.co/CpTiXRZE0o https://t.co/QuNwp56JYh https://t.co/akKIoOnTsB

Oct 4, 2022 · 1 like · 555 followers View post →

Sir Nightingale

@sir_nightingale · X

@Partielles Deux fois par seconde. Pas plus

Nov 3, 2021 · 42 followers View post →

Max Hodak

@maxhodak_ · X

Oct 10, 2021 · 1 like · 27,474 followers View post →

Zehra C.

@Zehra1C_ · X

https://t.co/93SGXlOXQ6

Oct 8, 2020 · 2,292 followers View post →

NonLocalityGuy

@NonLocalityGuy · X

RT @WiringTheBrain: @drmichaellevin Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept? https://t.co/zd71sheoMS

Sep 7, 2020 · 10 shares · 1,748 followers View post →

Narratologist // Strategy & Story

@steveseager · X

RT @WiringTheBrain: @drmichaellevin Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept? https://t.co/zd71sheoMS

Sep 7, 2020 · 10 shares · 2,725 followers View post →

Kevin Mitchell

@WiringTheBrain · X

RT @WiringTheBrain: @drmichaellevin Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept? https://t.co/zd71sheoMS

Sep 5, 2020 · 10 shares · 40,314 followers View post →

Teoriadaconspiração

@lugarinh · X

RT @WiringTheBrain: @drmichaellevin Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept? https://t.co/zd71sheoMS

Sep 5, 2020 · 10 shares · 236 followers View post →

De myth ology

@kevinmcld · X

RT @WiringTheBrain: @drmichaellevin Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept? https://t.co/zd71sheoMS

Sep 4, 2020 · 10 shares · 741 followers View post →

Sakshi Bhava

@memeristor · X

RT @WiringTheBrain: @drmichaellevin Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept? https://t.co/zd71sheoMS

Sep 4, 2020 · 10 shares · 250 followers View post →

Kenneth Payne

@kennethpayne01 · X

RT @WiringTheBrain: @drmichaellevin Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept? https://t.co/zd71sheoMS

Sep 4, 2020 · 10 shares · 3,034 followers View post →

Kevin Mitchell

@WiringTheBrain · X

@drmichaellevin Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept? https://t.co/zd71sheoMS

Sep 4, 2020 · 28 likes · 10 shares · 40,314 followers View post →

SHL0MS

@SHL0MS · X

https://t.co/ghurA1c3Dv

Aug 28, 2020 · 3 likes · 79,309 followers View post →

ATalkingMynah

@atalkingmynah · X

Two-stage model of perception proposes explanation for percept-fusing illusions. Does the brain unconsciously construct the most likely image from sampled stimuli before it enters consciousness? https://t.co/kDXQnKLZhs

Apr 23, 2020 · 7 followers View post →

Jim Bloom

@jimmyroybloom · X

https://t.co/f002xtt0g8

Apr 3, 2020 · 2,448 followers View post →

Adrien Doerig

@AdrienDoerig · X

@evantthompson @philofbrains Thanks for a nice thread! Here is a recent and different theory of discrete perception by our lab (Herzog et al.) https://t.co/xEjBiyf8hO. Fekete et al. replied, arguing for continuous theories https://t.co/VxM3MFMmy5 And we responded to their criticism https://t.co/n5Ih9i3twv.

Dec 17, 2019 · 1 like · 1,755 followers View post →

Alexander Kruel

@XiXiDu · X

Sep 27, 2019 · 4 likes · 4,860 followers View post →

Kaj Sotala

@xuenay · X

Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept? https://t.co/YZoyiJ49xU

Sep 19, 2019 · 1 like · 5,738 followers View post →

Matt Wall (@mattwall.bsky.social)

@m_wall · X

@keith_wilson Although, having said all that, there is stuff around like this: https://t.co/wkHBJiaMZX, which argues that conscious experience can lag (sometimes, considerably - 100s of ms!) behind related neural processes.

Mar 12, 2019 · 9,477 followers View post →

Neil Cohn

@neilcohn.bsky.social · Bluesky

This paper on time perception looks an awful lot like 2300 year old Buddhist dharma theory (Abhidharma) http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002433

Sep 14, 2016 View post →

Time Slices: What Is the Duration of a Percept?

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Where it's discussed

What people are saying

Abstract in brief

Top posts

All mentions

Understanding Perception Through Discrete Time Slices in Consciousness

Understanding Perception in Discrete Time Slices and Its Impact on Reality