Josh, many thanks for publishing my essay on
Neuroscience For Action Photography.
Some of the facts quoted in the article were the human reaction times - 0.25 seconds to a visual stimulus, 0.17 for an audio stimulus, and 0.15 seconds for a touch stimulus.
Recently, I stumbled upon a fascinating video by a group of student researchers affiliated with the Laboratory for Animal Behavior Research at San Diego State University, the Higham Biomechanics Laboratory at UC Riverside, and the Chiricahua Desert Museum. They conduct research on a variety of topics related to the behavior and conservation of terrestrial vertebrates (mainly small mammals and reptiles). Their latest published project was about measuring the reaction times of a desert kangoroo rat when confronted with a lightning-fast and deadly rattlesnake. You have to watch this:
Kangoroo Rat Fighting Off A RattlesnakeThe videos recorded with high-speed cameras show the incredible speed of rattlesnakes, which can literally strike faster than a human can blink - in about 100 ms. However, the kangoroo rats are even quicker. Their reaction times are around 70 ms, and some of those critters can jump within 40ms of a snake launching its strike. And not only they jump away (and incredibly high relative to their size), with their strong hind legs they can give quite a strong kick to the snake.
More background information about the research group and additional videos from this project can be found at their website:
ninjarat.org
