See the Unseen
June 17, 2009 by Pearl
The Discovery Channel has once again changed the way we perceive our world. Their new television series, Time Warp, uses a new technology to bring a never-been-seen world to the viewers.
MIT scientist, teacher, and artist, Jeff Lieberman and digital image expert Matt Kearney have created a new television series (Wednesdays at 8PM ET/PT) in which they use ultra high-speed cameras to shoot everyday occurrences that, when shown at normal speed, produce super slow motion images previously inaccessible to the human eye. The producers focus their special cameras on natural events—a pin bursting a water-filled balloon, a cat licking its paw, a champagne bottle popping open, a dog drinking water, a bullet hitting an apple, a bike rider performing a stunt—and turn them into a thing of both beauty and learning.
The human brain processes approximately 30 frames of images per second. Videos on television are normally broadcast at the same speed. The high-speed cameras used by Time Warp’s team can record up to 325,000 frames per second.
In some ways, the human brain is similar to Time Warp’s technology. As you read in my previous blog, when our brain detects a threat, it quickly alerts our body to react with the fight-or-flight reaction. Under stressful circumstances, the human brain takes in more images in less time to create precious moments for escape. The result is a slowing in the perception of time.
The stressful situation of speaking in front of a large group may produce the same reaction in the brain.
The slowing of time by high-speed cameras may have won Time Warp entertainment points, but it won’t work well for the presenter on stage. A presenter in time warp may loose track of time and end up rushing through the information.
To avoid getting sucked into time warp during your presentation, be prepared. Know your subject thoroughly and verbalize it several times before you deliver it. When you do, you will be able to control your own time warp; perhaps not as much as the Discovery Channel cameras do, but enough to make your presentation a success.
If you have a personal time warp experience, please share it by leaving a comment.
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