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How fast is the speed of thought? - Seena Mathew

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TEDEd Animation

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Your mortal enemy has captured you and hooked you up to a bizarre experiment. He’s extended your nervous system with one very long neuron to a target about 70 meters away. At some point, he’s going to fire an arrow. If you can then think a thought to the target before the arrow hits it, he’ll let you go. So who wins that race? Seena Mathew examines the speed of thought.

Why is there variability in the speed of action potentials?

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About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Seena Mathew
  • Director Andrew Foerster
  • Narrator Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Sound Designer Devin Polaski
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Script Editor Cella Wright
  • Fact-Checker Jennifer Nam

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