I am a bit of a Physics buff so always keen to read up on the latest experiments taking place.
One I saw late last year was on our perception of time.
As part of fight or flight response to a stimulus our body will shut off certain functions to divert energy and focus to other vital functions.
This most commonly occurs as flow or tunnel vision, where you hold a lot of focus on a task such that you lose track of time.
This particular experiment had a guy dropped from a large height onto a big net. On his wrist he had a watch like device that was flashing a number at a high frequency that you cannot normally view it.
As he fell the idea was to see if he could see the number.
And he could everytime. That is during a heightened response his ability to perceive his surroundings was much better than normal.
In fact you can watch the video here: Free Fall Experiment
I thought this was pretty neat especially in how it ties into Marketing and in particular usability.
If you can change your customers perception of time through stimulating flow or enjoyment you create a strong customer relationship with your product & service.
(Extras for experts read my research on Live Search’s inability to create a compelling experience. )