David Eagleman says fear doesn’t create ‘slow-motion’ perception but can make memories feel longer afterwards

What was said

"And what we were testing is, do you actually see in slow motion when you're in fear for your life? And I'll skip many of the details, but the punchline is that you do not. You don't actually see in slow motion."

Guest neuroscientist David Eagleman says his lab tested whether people truly perceive events in slow motion during extreme fear by dropping volunteer subjects from a 150-foot tower into a safety net and measuring perceptual limits using a wrist device that flashed information. He says the results did not show slowed perception; instead, high-stress moments generate unusually dense memories, which can make the episode seem to have lasted longer in retrospect.