Scrutable

I like watching motorbike racing, but when I watch it on the tv (as opposed to in person) I have often noticed that the bikes appear to pause then jump forward regularly. I was worried that there was some sort of fault on the tv but MrsG said she did not see any jumping. Just this weekend I worked out that the jumps in the bike position coincided with the ticking of a clock. It was a bit too matched to be a coincidence. I’ve just moved the clock and the effect is much less. If I concentrate it’s not there at all. There must be some sight/sound thing going on in my head. Has anyone got any idea what’s going on in my brain?

Literally no idea

Maybe Chronostasis ?

stańczyk wrote: Wed Jul 10, 2024 8:08 pm Maybe Chronostasis ?

Yeah, must be something to do with that. Never heard of it happening continuously though

I wouldn't entirely discount the idea there might be something funny going on with the tv. You can get odd frame dropping/frame repeating effects on tv if the original video isn't synchronised with the display settings, and with all the 'helpful' processing modern tv's can offer to 'improve' the picture, it can be hard to spot what's happening or indeed that anything is happening at all.

Martin Y wrote: Wed Jul 10, 2024 9:07 pm I wouldn't entirely discount the idea there might be something funny going on with the tv. You can get odd frame dropping/frame repeating effects on tv if the original video isn't synchronised with the display settings, and with all the 'helpful' processing modern tv's can offer to 'improve' the picture, it can be hard to spot what's happening or indeed that anything is happening at all.

I can’t imagine a tv artifact would stop when I move the clock out of earshot though.

Grumble wrote: Wed Jul 10, 2024 8:17 pm

stańczyk wrote: Wed Jul 10, 2024 8:08 pm Maybe Chronostasis ?

Yeah, must be something to do with that. Never heard of it happening continuously though

I think could well be this, where the sound of the clock triggers in you a saccade or even a blink, even if your conscious mind is generally habituated to the sound.

A different weirdness: When there is a thunderstorm brewing, I often think the first lightning flash happens when it was just me blinking. Anybody else do that?

Grumble wrote: Thu Jul 11, 2024 5:15 am I can’t imagine a tv artifact would stop when I move the clock out of earshot though.

I can't imagine how normal people tolerate a ticking clock within earshot in their house. It drives me up the wall. But apparently normal people can edit this out more easily than I. When I am a guest in a friend's house or airbnb or hotel, I often have to hide a ticking clock under a pile of spare bedlinen, or in extremis take the battery out of it.

When I was at school, you could play chess at break times in a particular classroom. Chess clocks were available, and in those days they were all wind-up clockwork ones that ticked quite loudly. Naughty children would leave a clock running at the back of the cupboard, when they put the equipment back, as they knew it annoyed the teacher who most often taught in that room. It annoyed me too, and I was often taught in that room, so I would sabotage their plan if I was due in later that day. Otherwise the teacher would then have to search through the cupboard to find the offending clock. Though curiously it didn't seem to matter if I was actually playing chess, sound of the game I suppose. Not that I was particularly good at it, much better at bridge.