The role of perception is to:

extract meaning from the continuously changing, often chaotic sensory input from external energy sources and organise it into stable, orderly percepts.
(Zimbardo & Gerrig, 2002, p.133)

Don’t worry if you don’t understand that because me myself also don’t understand. Just want to recall back what my friend and I learnt about perception yesterday.

Okay. Cut the crap out. Here I go.

Yesterday, or today is the first time I didn’t go to sleep at night because of studies. It’s not like I can’t go to sleep, but I just want to experience how it feels to study late at night when everyone is sleeping. I already try it for other stuff like playing games or hang out with friends, but this is the first time I study late night. lol. Anyway, able to finish 5 lectures and make a new friend yesterday. Hahaha. I guess its worth it.

Back to the topic, TIME PERCEPTION. How do our mind tell the difference between today and yesterday?

  • by the day and night? eg: when you see the sunrise, its already a new day…
  • by time? eg: at 00:00, it is a new day
  • by you sleep? when you woke up, it is a new day for you

I’m not sure about everyone else, but I realise something this morning. My friend and I were disoriented in time. We don’t know what to call the day before that whether it is yesterday or not because “automatically”, when we referring to last night (“malam semalam“), we won’t say it happen yesterday but rather “malam tadi“. For us, it is still not a new day even it is 6am in the morning.

And this happen for me before when I’m the only one hasn’t had my night sleep yet. Everyone is keep saying about “yesterday” but I couldn’t perceive what happen last night is “yesterday”. For me, it is still the same day. A bit confusing right?lol

However, after I sleep, I automatically switched my perception. Yesterday is really yesterday for me. BUT, that morning as well I perceived as yesterday. For example, I didn’t slept the whole night, and in the morning around 7am I cooked “nasi lemak” for them. Then we had a chat and I slept around 11am. When I woke up, I still remember that I cooked for them YESTERDAY even it is 7am in the morning.

So, does this mean that my brain sort the information on time based on my night sleep? I’m not sure about other people, but that was what I thought at that time. 7am on the same day is YESTERDAY for me. I guess my brain open a new page after I had sleep. Not based on time or environment.

This might also explain what my lecturer said regarding “our brain process information during our sleep”. We crammed the whole day, and during the night, the brain does it work to store for ‘long term memory’ (hopefully :p) That’s why what I experience before I get to sleep is “yesterday” for me even it is actually happen on the same day.

Therefore, don’t skip your sleep people.It is part of learning process. Sleep well before the exam. Pray to the God. InsyaAllah it will be easy for you to answer the exam. Allah knows what is the best to us. Good Luck in your studies and Happy Cramming. One more day to go… ~sigh~

p/s: thank you to my friend for staying up with me =p won’t be able to stay up late on my own. hahaha. gud lak in your studies. see you on monday. hahaha