Our brains are making choices before we even realise, causing us to effectively live half a second in the past as decision making and realising those decisions are apparently two separate instances, according to an esteemed expert.
In exploring this mind-boggling idea that our biology might be outpacing our conscious thought was Dr Chris Smith. The revered medical consultant from Cambridge University engaged in his usual ‘Ask the Naked Scientist’ segment on South African radio last Friday.
One philosophical listener asked: “When does my brain decide to pick up a spoon or fork when I want to eat? When is that moment of consciousness?”
Answering with amused enthusiasm, the doctor divulged that this has been understood since scientists experimented on brain activity nearly 40 years ago.
As he went on to explain on CapeTalk: “What they wanted to see was when a person decided to do something versus when they realised they decided they wanted to do something. Because they’re not the same thing.”
The fascinating experiment involved giving the participants a remote control for a projector that could switch the presentation to different slides at their whim. Unbeknownst to them, however, the button didn’t actually function.
Dr Smith elaborated: “They actually used the change in brain activity to advance the slides, not the remote control.
“They were monitoring their brain waves and they could see the decision to press the button reflected in a change in the brainwaves up to half a second before they pressed the button.”
Following the experiment, many participants expressed amazement, claiming the machine “could read my mind” as it was “changing the slide before the person realised they wanted to change the slide”.
In more detailed terms, Dr Smith explained: “We’re all living in the past by between a third and half a second.
“Our brain is presenting to our consciousness how we’re doing, what we’re doing and how we’re doing it up to half a second after we actually decided what we were going to do.”
