A new study has come out finding that we are more inclined to believe that people have acted intentionally after we see them in slow motion.

You can read about it in these two pieces:

This infamous Draymond Green clip shows how slow motion can bias referees is from The Washington Post.

The Problem With Slow Motion is from The New York Times.

As the Post article explains:

The researchers believe that slow motion makes it appear that a person has more time to think, plan and then act than they really do. Thus, slow-motion video could create the illusion that a person is acting intentionally when he or she is not.

“Seeing something in slow motion gives you the false impression that the actor had more time to act, so it feels more premeditated,” Caruso said. “When you see it in slow motion it just has this, like, air of inevitability.”

And the Post illustrates the point with this Draymond Green video from the NBA playoffs (it also has a video of a shooting that I wouldn’t feel comfortable showing to my class):

Since we’re in Northern California, many of my students will be familiar with this incident.

I plan on showing the video to my Theory Of Knowledge classes when we’re studying Perception, then ask them if they think it was intentional – why or why not. Then I’ll explain what the study found, and ask students to think and discuss what the reasons might be for the research finding. After a short discussion, I’ll tell them what the researchers said about it.

The purpose of the unit is to help students see how and when Perception can help and hinder our search for knowledge, and this is a perfect example.