Brain makes decision seconds before you are aware of it

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Yesterday I was chatting with my friend over phone. After sometime, we said bye and were about to disconnect the call. While I was just disconnecting the call, I heard her voice from the other side asking me something more. But without sensing it fully, the call had been disconnected by my hands..

My hands could not be prevented from disconnecting the call, while I was hearing her voice.

Is it like hands acting ahead of brain..? Senses to hands are also given by brain.. If so why such timing issue?

This is not a single incident. I felt it many a times, in many occasions (not merely in phone calls)

The call was not actually disconnected, that’s why I heard her voice partially. But all of a sudden hands acted to cut the call. May be the instructions were given to hands ahead of time and hands were simply acting accordingly.

reflexIt is told that brain takes decision 7 seconds before our conscious mind becomes aware of them.

May be the decision to cut the call was taken by brain 7 seconds ahead of time. And hands acted accordingly. In the meantime brain changed its decision recognizing that the other person is talking.But the call was already disconnected by the time conscious mind became aware of the brain’s changed decision.

But even then, why it could not take any reflex actions or changed actions according to new circumstances..?

77 responses to “Brain makes decision seconds before you are aware of it”

  1. anand Avatar
    anand

    Haa.. it just happens usually to all …

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      ya…reading the comments, i also felt that it’s not an odd thing…

      Liked by 1 person

      1. anand Avatar
        anand

        🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  2. novelistbaba Avatar
    novelistbaba

    finally an explanation………this happens all the time…… 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      Explanation or an excuse😉

      Liked by 1 person

      1. novelistbaba Avatar
        novelistbaba

        hehe……..it’s an ex

        Liked by 1 person

      2. novelistbaba Avatar
        novelistbaba

        damn it……i hit enter too soon……and now you know why!! 😀 😀

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Akhila Avatar

          Ha ha…escaped..

          Liked by 1 person

          1. novelistbaba Avatar
            novelistbaba

            this time, i did!!! 😀 😀

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Akhila Avatar

              😜😜

              Liked by 1 person

  3. evanaweb Avatar
    evanaweb

    7 seconds?? are you sure?? that seems like so long

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      isnt it…google..

      Like

  4. thewritewomanblog Avatar

    ….and you do think and think and think more…and get me thinking too! Y?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      lol…. that’s how we have to be , no..😎

      Liked by 1 person

      1. thewritewomanblog Avatar

        Your thinking is contagious! Good thinking!

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Shreya Sharma Avatar

    And Ankhila thinks too much! 😹🙈 But, that’s good. 😍😍😊😊

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      ankhila.. nice name..😎

      Like

      1. Shreya Sharma Avatar

        By mistake ho gya 😹😀

        Liked by 1 person

  6. davekingsbury Avatar

    My wife reckons my delay is more like 7 minutes …

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      lol….still 7 hours is better than 7 minutes..;)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. davekingsbury Avatar

        Well, longer …

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Puneet Avatar

    Hmm…. Informative post… Well, I don’t care about this… Do you? 😁😁

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      ha ha.. shhhh

      Like

  8. paintdigi Avatar

    Good posts, beautiful blog.
    Congratulations.
    Welcome to see my creations:
    http://paintdigi.wordpress.com

    Like

    1. Akhila Avatar

      thanks for being here.. will catch you soon

      Like

      1. paintdigi Avatar

        You’r welcome 🍁 🍁

        Liked by 1 person

  9. 2ndhalfolife Avatar

    That’s like when you start to shut the car door but know you left the keys inside…but you shut it anyway. And just as you push it, you want to grab it, but it’s too late…..

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      ha ha.. what else could describe this better than your car example..

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Mick Canning Avatar

    That brain’s too clever for its own good!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      then 7 seconds delay is okay..no..;)

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Meenakshi Sethi Avatar

    I’m loving your posts Akhila! They are giving me mew wisdom and food of thoughts to my brain! Thank you!
    And you are right I felt the same many times!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      thanks a lot meenakshi..i am really honored with your words..

      Liked by 1 person

  12. aishahnaaz Avatar

    And you call her back and say, “sorry, my brain had already decided to cut the call seconds before so the call got cut. ” Nice excuse 😜😜😜

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Akhila Avatar

      ha ha.. lol…

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Bikramjit Avatar
    Bikramjit

    I have no clue.. I did Google tooo after reading the first couple of comments too.. wow human brain is a mystery..

    You made a good observation .. 7 seconds is a long time….

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Akhila Avatar

      true.. there are many mysteries with your brain…

      Like

  14. Shrieks of Soul Avatar

    Really a good observation… Most of the time this happens with me too.😊 (I’m happy that I’m not the only one😋😂)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      thank you…so now you got a scientifical excuse no..;)

      Like

      1. Shrieks of Soul Avatar

        Yeah😄 My pleasure…

        Liked by 1 person

  15. vishal4u Avatar

    This had happened with all of us almost many times, but we never thought of it. Nice observation.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Akhila Avatar

      thanks vishal.. glad that i am not alone to be less conscious..;)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. vishal4u Avatar

        Well I agree that I have been conscious but you took it ahead and found out why such happened. Your curiosity is admirable. Need to learn it soon.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Akhila Avatar

          🙂

          Liked by 1 person

  16. prashantt Avatar
    prashantt

    My brain is working more than 7 times faster when reading your posts..haahaa
    Yes,happens with me too and how come you think questions like this..probably a great engg mind behind it.Have a great day ahead fierce woman😊

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      7 times faster…Ahh…hope you are still okay..;)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. prashantt Avatar
        prashantt

        Haahaa…i am all okay! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  17. exoticnita54 Avatar

    Really a great observation..
    almost like lighting and thunder.., the sound 🔊 actually comes before the lightning ⛈..
    but because lightning ⛈ travels so much faster than sounds..
    We see the lightening first..

    Our brains signal our reaction..
    And we react before the brain can change our mind to stop ✋

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      thank you for your kind words..i liked your comparison on lightning and thunder.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. exoticnita54 Avatar

        Smiling huge

        Liked by 1 person

  18. ramesh.c.tiwari Avatar

    Your hand did not act ahead of your brain but rather it carried out the first instruction before it received the second one.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      ya.. that’s what is known as the 7 seconds delay..

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Nisthur Anadi Avatar
    Nisthur Anadi

    True

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      🙂

      Like

  20. Josh Avatar

    Its Because of the lack of situational awareness 😛

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Akhila Avatar

      ha ha… and a scientifcal excuse for the same, no..;)

      Like

      1. Josh Avatar

        😀

        Liked by 1 person

  21. myheartbeats4ublog Avatar

    As usual, very thought provoking article. But agree with neah007…. But true, the command – action delay is very much there… Also liked the ‘cricket’ example in one of the comments…

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Akhila Avatar

      🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  22. neah007 Avatar

    Maybe it’s the other way round. Perhaps your conscious mind was aware of it, but the brain didn’t have the time to assess the information and make a decision, or even stop your hands.
    But on the other hand, if your friend had the habit of speaking even after bye, you might have subconsciously expected it. In that case I don’t think you’d cut the call so fast.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Akhila Avatar

      he he.. you are too funny…you just transformed the entire case to a new platform. i liked this new approach. thanks friend. have a good day

      Liked by 2 people

  23. TylerLearnsToWrite Avatar

    7 seconds.? That’s a long delay. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Akhila Avatar

      yes it is.. but it is there as per scientific evidences.. In my cases I felt one or two seconds delay. haven’t you experienced it..?

      Liked by 2 people

      1. TylerLearnsToWrite Avatar

        Yup. Always. 🙂

        Like

      2. TylerLearnsToWrite Avatar

        Haha. Yes. Always 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  24. Nitin Avatar
    Nitin

    Yes. You are right on point. Subconscious (Fast thinking) makes that hand act and disconnect the call. Nice read, and well written. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Akhila Avatar

      Thanks nitin. It’s always a wonder to think about the instructor of brain. .

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Nitin Avatar

        Keep thinking and sharing such posts 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Akhila Avatar

          🙂

          Liked by 1 person

  25. Jackie Jain Avatar

    Yes well said Akhila.. In some cases it is true.. Even I have experienced such situations, when our senses work ahead of our brain as they were instructed in before hand. But I think this logic doesn’t work everywhere, as if in cricket when a bowler bowls a ball, the batsman have less than a second time to time the ball. In that time he has to time the ball so nothing is decided in before hand here. I think when we are in a situation when timing is not important, our senses work ahead of time.. Just a guess..

    Good evening.. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Akhila Avatar

      Thanks friend.. I am happy to know that you also had similar experiences.
      have a good day.. and I liked your analogy in cricket bowling..

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Jackie Jain Avatar

        You are always welcome Akhila.. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Akhila Avatar

          🙂

          Liked by 1 person

  26. Sakthi Avatar

    As you made the conclusion with perfect scenario! Our reaction time is 7 seconds delay!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Akhila Avatar

      hmm..in fact it was a new information for me. After drafting my post, I just googled my scenario to find out if any scientific reasons. there it is.. found this 7 seconds delay issue

      Like

      1. Sakthi Avatar

        You think too deep 🙂 Anyway it’s informative!

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Akhila Avatar

          thanks sakthi

          Like

          1. Sakthi Avatar

            🙂

            Liked by 1 person

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