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Seriously...

A Sense of Time

Seriously...

BBC

Documentary, Society & Culture

4.1885 Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2019

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Animal senses reveal a wealth of information that humans can't access. Birds can see in ultra violet, and some fish can 'feel' electricity. But how do different species sense time?

If you've ever tried to swat flies, you'll know that they seem to have super-powered reactions that let them escape before you can blink. Presenter Geoff Marsh asks whether flies have some sort of super-power to see the world in slow motion. Are they watching your hand come down at what might appear a leisurely pace?

Science reveals a window into the minds of different species and their temporal perceptions. Some flies have such fast vision that they can see and react to movement at four times the rate you can, and our vision works at more than six times the speed of one species of deep sea fish. This programme delves into each moment of experience to ask 'what is time, biologically?' When birds have to dodge through forests and catch flies on the wing, or when flies have to avoid birds, it would seem that a faster temporal resolution would be a huge advantage. So what is their sense of time?

Geoff meets physicist Carlo Rovelli and asks him to jump outside of physics to answer questions on biology and philosophy. Geoff explores the mind of a bat with Professor Yossi Yovel in Israel, and dissects birdsong at super slow speeds with BBC wildlife sound recordist, Chris Watson. Getting deep into the minds of animals he questions whether our seconds feel like swordfish seconds, or a beetles' or birds' or bats..?

Presenter: Geoff Marsh Producer: Rory Galloway

Transcript

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0:00.0

This was an impregnable fortress. The only way you get out was in a wooden box.

0:05.0

The controversial maximum security prison impossible to escape from.

0:09.0

And one of the duties of a political prisoner is the escape.

0:12.0

The IRA inmates who found a way. of a political prisoner is the escape.

0:12.5

The IRA inmates who found a way.

0:14.5

I'm Carlo Gableer and I'll be navigating a path

0:19.5

through the disturbing inside story of the biggest jailbreak in British and Irish history.

0:25.0

The narrative that they want is that this is a big achievement by them.

0:28.5

Escape from the maze, listen first on BBC Sounds.

0:35.0

BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, Music Radio Podcasts.

0:39.0

Boy, you.

0:41.0

Before you settle down to this podcast, let me tell you about a little thing called

0:46.4

Forest, for us, an environmental thriller for BBC Sounds.

0:51.4

I'm so sorry. Meet Pan. For what I Pan. She lives a few centuries from now after a data crash that wiped out most records of life.

0:58.0

Shunk! So when she finds an old recording of a rainforest.

1:03.0

She has no idea what it is.

1:06.5

Forest 404, 9 part thriller, 9 part talk,

1:10.0

9 part soundscape.

1:11.8

Starring Paul Mackie, Tanya Moody and Pepper Haywood with theme music by

1:16.2

Bonobo.

1:19.2

Subscribe now on BBC Sound.

1:21.2

Subscribe now.

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