Time-delay experiment can make cause-and-effect feel reversed, David Eagleman says

What was said

"So, after you've gotten used to this 200 millcond delay, I remove it. So, now you hit the button and the light flashes and you say, "Whoa, I didn't do that. It flashed before I hit the button.""

David Eagleman describes an experiment where a button press triggers a flash, while researchers gradually increase the delay between action and flash until participants adapt and perceive it as instant. He says that when the delay is then removed, participants can report that the flash happened before the button press, illustrating how the brain recalibrates timing rather than simply reporting event order.