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Helmholtz's "psychological" time experiments - continued...


Before Helmholtz started these experiments, he had hypothesized distinct aspects or phases of the reaction process he observed. This was facilitated by the telegraphic metaphor Helmholtz used as did many of his contemporaries.


Needle Telegraph produced by Matthäus Hipp in the late 1860s

Thus, he explained that one part of the time between stimulation and reaction was consumed by the 'sending of the signal' (i.e. the stimulus) through the sensory nerves. Another portion of time (which Helmholtz assumed to be exactly as small or large as the first) was needed to transmit the 'message' through the motor nerve to the muscle. The remaining bit, Helmholtz concluded was the time required 'in the brain for the processes of perceiving and willing' (Helmholtz, 1883 [1850], p. 878).

Reference: Schmidgen, Henning. 2003. Helmholtz's "Psychological" Time Experiments.. The Virtual Laboratory (ISSN 1866-4784), https://vlp.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/references?id=art10&page=p0003