Ever thought your reflexes would be as good as those of an F1 driver? Luck is great. Regular “click when you see the dot” games are not F1 reaction test. After stretching your senses, tease with your intellect, then toss you in the deep end. You may practically miss it if you blink.
People enjoy talking about their reaction times. Few people really can cross the 200-millisecond threshold. Formula 1 drivers combine a dozen dials all at once with G-forces and nerve-rattling speed. Still, the essential building block is lightning-fast reactions See it, then press the button starting with a light or a buzzer. Simply said, speed is life here. Average reaction times between 0.15 and 0.20 seconds are F1 champions. Some people claim coffee speeds them up. Others say that a cold shower turns on their brain. Everybody has their own routines.
You say, “Come on, I’m fast enough!.” Till you give it a try. The wild nature of the pressure. That ancient ruler-drop exam for classrooms? Children’s play in comparison to the high-tech physical testing drivers utilize or online simulators Flinch too quickly, and you are disqualified. Wait too long; you are toast. A podium finish differs from a spin into the gravel in one way. Sometimes barely the width of a hair, the pinky finger’s twitching.
Even more experienced players get modest. On a PlayStation, those split-millisecond reactions you work on? Still quite far from what is expected at the highest level. Would like to improve your reflexes? Set hard mode for play whack-a-mole. Try eye-tracking exercises in which the stimuli come from erratic directions. Alternatively duel friends for fastest-click bragging rights. One person always seems to be faster.
It also comes mostly from expectation. Will you jump the gun? Nerves jittering at the starting grid as the red lights flutter away, hearts pounding? Or simply miss the flag? These tests help you to educate your mind to marry aggression with patience. Think too much and you freeze. Use your intuition; perhaps you will surprise yourself.
Are your fingers then yearning to see how fast you actually are? You might violate the 0.2-second boundary. Maybe, like the rest of us, you will be humbled. Try the F1 reaction tests and let the judge be the milliseconds.