Reaction speed

ZeSpectre · February 17, 2010, 01:38 PM

So where does your reaction speed fit in?

Human Benchmark Reaction Speed Test

Apparently I'm kinda slow, 5 rounds averaged out at 218ms

Rayndeon · February 17, 2010, 01:59 PM

That's not slow. That's normal. The lower threshold for *simple* reaction speed for pretty much all humans is about 200 ms or 0.2 seconds. Even world-record holders in draw and fire from the hip average from 200 to 250 ms.

I am skeptical of many the much lower scores on the top list. Either they employed some type of program to help them, or they are truly exceptional persons.

*Vs, say choice or recognition reaction times which are typically much slower. There is a fairly recent review of the biological literature on reaction time, as well as the types of reaction time and factors influencing reaction time on this webpage.

ScottRiqui · February 17, 2010, 02:01 PM

I averaged 214 ms over five tries, which is about how I usually do in these types of tests. The test said that the average of all testers so far is 215 ms, so I guess I'm right in the fat part of the bell curve.

EDIT - Just realized I misread the results. I actually averaged 204.6 ms over five tries. the 214 ms figure was just my last attempt, not the average of all five.

Brian Pfleuger · February 17, 2010, 02:07 PM

I'm at 231.8ms

skydiver3346 · February 17, 2010, 02:12 PM

I'm at 213 average. Got one in at 208 but only one at that speed. Guess that isn't too bad for an old retired guy....

brickeyee · February 17, 2010, 03:32 PM

Raw reaction speed is not normally as much of an issue as the time spent evaluating and judging WHAT reaction is needed.

Take emergency braking a car.

The reaction time after deciding to apply the brakes is much smaller than the time needed to decide to apply them.

Virginia uses 1.5 seconds for the entire reaction time in computing stopping distance.

You would have to be pretty slow to spend 1.5 seconds moving your foot from the gas to the brake.

Cremon · February 17, 2010, 03:38 PM

My average was 210.4 ms. I can't see someone getting a LOT better than 200 ms unless they can time the intervals. The electric signal travelling from your brain to your finger through your nervous system is the slowest part of the whole equation for most healthy people.

Erich · February 17, 2010, 04:56 PM

196.0 - I had one bad click at 268 that really threw me off. Got distracted. Anyway, I made the leaderboard.

Lee Lapin · February 17, 2010, 04:59 PM

I like this one better- it's a bit more complex.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/

lpl

Evan Thomas · February 17, 2010, 05:24 PM

I am... completely astonished.

My average was 200.2 ms... which put me on the leaderboard.

There has to be a flaw in this somewhere. I'm way too old to rank #20...

ETA: Lee, you're right. Those BBC sheep are fiendishly good at faking a person out. Even when they didn't fake me out, "Bobbing Bobcat" was the best I could do...

That's a much more interesting test.

pax · February 17, 2010, 06:14 PM

Cool stuff -- but not a lot of gun-related discussion to go with it.

Close?

Or leave open hoping for a sudden turn topic-ward?

Hmmmmmmmm.

pax

fastforty · February 17, 2010, 06:37 PM

Not sure if it's a fair measure of reaction time. I Use my Pact shooting timer and and old Crossman air pistol to check my reaction time (if the muzzle of the gun is very near the microphone on the timer it will set it off). With my finger on the trigger, I hit the "GO!" button and I *know* the tone will follow at a random time within about 3 seconds. I can consistently get times of .10-.13 seconds with an occasional .09 thrown in just to keep me trying to be faster. It's pretty much the same on the firing line, when I'm expecting a go signal. In the real world (like reaction time to brake a vehicle or to draw on someone in public) a lot of decision making time and body motion has to be thrown into the equation.

Double Naught Spy · February 17, 2010, 07:21 PM

We used a shot timer with shooters who had their guns out and slack taken out of the trigger. On the beep, they pull the trigger. Generally speaking, younger folks tended to do better than older folks and males tended to do better than females. All in all, about .2 was the norm.

Note that I have seen at least one female who had a consistent reaction time at .15 and a grey haired old guy (I believe he was in his late 60s) that had a .17 average and have seen a college-aged guy that could not beat .25 to save his life.

It is a fun test to do with a shot timer. You can see how your mental state affects your reaction time, trying when you are fresh versus when you are tired or even how medication is affecting you. I found one of my sinus medications slowed my reaction time in spite of the fact that it didn't have any sort of posted warning.

Japle · February 17, 2010, 07:46 PM

Five tries average 184.2. That's better than I usually do.

Miketodd04 · February 17, 2010, 08:59 PM

Five tries was 206 even.

pax · February 17, 2010, 09:22 PM

Well, I tried.

pax

February 17, 2010, 01:38 PM	#1
ZeSpectre Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2007 Location: Shenandoah Valley Posts: 3,276	Reaction speed So where does your reaction speed fit in? Human Benchmark Reaction Speed Test Apparently I'm kinda slow, 5 rounds averaged out at 218ms __________________ "The dogs may bark but the caravan moves on"

February 17, 2010, 02:01 PM	#3
ScottRiqui Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2010 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 2,905	I averaged 214 ms over five tries, which is about how I usually do in these types of tests. The test said that the average of all testers so far is 215 ms, so I guess I'm right in the fat part of the bell curve. EDIT - Just realized I misread the results. I actually averaged 204.6 ms over five tries. the 214 ms figure was just my last attempt, not the average of all five. Last edited by ScottRiqui; February 17, 2010 at 02:44 PM.

February 17, 2010, 02:07 PM	#4
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	I'm at 231.8ms __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

February 17, 2010, 02:12 PM	#5
skydiver3346 Senior Member Join Date: December 22, 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 1,222	Reaction test I'm at 213 average. Got one in at 208 but only one at that speed. Guess that isn't too bad for an old retired guy....

February 17, 2010, 03:38 PM	#7
Cremon Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2007 Location: Marietta, GA Posts: 307	My average was 210.4 ms. I can't see someone getting a LOT better than 200 ms unless they can time the intervals. The electric signal travelling from your brain to your finger through your nervous system is the slowest part of the whole equation for most healthy people. __________________ If guns were outlawed, then only outlaws would have guns.

February 17, 2010, 01:59 PM	#2
Rayndeon Senior Member Join Date: December 16, 2008 Posts: 128	That's not slow. That's normal. The lower threshold for simple reaction speed for pretty much all humans is about 200 ms or 0.2 seconds. Even world-record holders in draw and fire from the hip average from 200 to 250 ms. I am skeptical of many the much lower scores on the top list. Either they employed some type of program to help them, or they are truly exceptional persons. *Vs, say choice or recognition reaction times which are typically much slower. There is a fairly recent review of the biological literature on reaction time, as well as the types of reaction time and factors influencing reaction time on this webpage.

February 17, 2010, 03:32 PM	#6
brickeyee Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2004 Posts: 3,351	Raw reaction speed is not normally as much of an issue as the time spent evaluating and judging WHAT reaction is needed. Take emergency braking a car. The reaction time after deciding to apply the brakes is much smaller than the time needed to decide to apply them. Virginia uses 1.5 seconds for the entire reaction time in computing stopping distance. You would have to be pretty slow to spend 1.5 seconds moving your foot from the gas to the brake.

February 17, 2010, 04:56 PM	#8
Erich Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 1999 Location: Albuquerque, NM, USA Posts: 2,543	196.0 - I had one bad click at 268 that really threw me off. Got distracted. Anyway, I made the leaderboard.

February 17, 2010, 04:59 PM	#9
Lee Lapin Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2004 Location: SE NC Posts: 1,239	I like this one better- it's a bit more complex. http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/ lpl __________________ Mindset - Skillset - Toolset. In that order! Attitude and skill will get you through times of no gear, better than gear will get you through times of no attitude and no skill.

February 17, 2010, 05:24 PM	#10
Evan Thomas Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2008 Location: Upper midwest Posts: 5,631	I am... completely astonished. My average was 200.2 ms... which put me on the leaderboard. There has to be a flaw in this somewhere. I'm way too old to rank #20... ETA: Lee, you're right. Those BBC sheep are fiendishly good at faking a person out. Even when they didn't fake me out, "Bobbing Bobcat" was the best I could do... That's a much more interesting test. __________________ Never let anything mechanical know you're in a hurry. Last edited by Evan Thomas; February 17, 2010 at 05:48 PM.

February 17, 2010, 06:14 PM	#11
pax Senior Member Join Date: May 16, 2000 Location: In a state of flux Posts: 7,520	Cool stuff -- but not a lot of gun-related discussion to go with it. Close? Or leave open hoping for a sudden turn topic-ward? Hmmmmmmmm. pax __________________ Kathy Jackson My personal website: Cornered Cat

February 17, 2010, 06:37 PM	#12
fastforty Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 1999 Location: In a kornfield in kalifornia Posts: 1,161	Not sure if it's a fair measure of reaction time. I Use my Pact shooting timer and and old Crossman air pistol to check my reaction time (if the muzzle of the gun is very near the microphone on the timer it will set it off). With my finger on the trigger, I hit the "GO!" button and I know the tone will follow at a random time within about 3 seconds. I can consistently get times of .10-.13 seconds with an occasional .09 thrown in just to keep me trying to be faster. It's pretty much the same on the firing line, when I'm expecting a go signal. In the real world (like reaction time to brake a vehicle or to draw on someone in public) a lot of decision making time and body motion has to be thrown into the equation. __________________ When Banjos are outlawed, only Outlaws will have Banjos The Bible is my lawbook. I turn the other cheek when applicable, and spend the rest of my days resisting evil at every front, until I have breathed my last breath.

February 17, 2010, 07:21 PM	#13
Double Naught Spy Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2001 Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX Posts: 12,717	We used a shot timer with shooters who had their guns out and slack taken out of the trigger. On the beep, they pull the trigger. Generally speaking, younger folks tended to do better than older folks and males tended to do better than females. All in all, about .2 was the norm. Note that I have seen at least one female who had a consistent reaction time at .15 and a grey haired old guy (I believe he was in his late 60s) that had a .17 average and have seen a college-aged guy that could not beat .25 to save his life. It is a fun test to do with a shot timer. You can see how your mental state affects your reaction time, trying when you are fresh versus when you are tired or even how medication is affecting you. I found one of my sinus medications slowed my reaction time in spite of the fact that it didn't have any sort of posted warning. __________________ "If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011 My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange

February 17, 2010, 07:46 PM	#14
Japle Senior Member Join Date: October 12, 2004 Location: Viera, Florida Posts: 1,340	Five tries average 184.2. That's better than I usually do.

February 17, 2010, 08:59 PM	#15
Miketodd04 Member Join Date: June 15, 2007 Location: Northwest Indiana Posts: 98	Five tries was 206 even.

February 17, 2010, 09:22 PM	#16
pax Senior Member Join Date: May 16, 2000 Location: In a state of flux Posts: 7,520	Well, I tried. pax __________________ Kathy Jackson My personal website: Cornered Cat

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search