The dimensions of the sensible present
pp. 274-292
in: Fraser, Francis C. Haber, Gert H. Müller (eds), The study of time, Berlin, Springer, 1972Abstract
In the past two years there has been a revival of interest, on the part of some psychologists, in the structure of the so-called "sensible present'. This term — and its equivalent "specious present' — is used to describe experiences we are all familiar with: the fact that we can hear very short bursts of sound, in such rapid succession that, although we are aware of successiveness, we cannot give the items in a reliable order. It is as if the whole situation was, in one sense, enjoyed together; while in another (equally obvious) sense it involves different phases, which are successive in time. It is known by experiment that, where the time-separation between items of such an experience falls below a certain minimum extent — about fifty milliseconds of physical time — it is impossible to place the items in a reliable simple-linear order. If, for example, the experience is of two sounds lasting less than 10 milliseconds played on a tape, then a replay of the tape will often reverse the time order, as subjectively heard, when the interval between the onset of the sounds is less than about 50 milliseconds.