Is c a perceptual ceiling? A cross-species timing proposal
Physics Essays June 20, 2026 Danny Baranes
The speed of light may not be a fixed physical constant but an upper limit on how fast biological brains can process information. This hypothesis suggests that different species, with their unique sensory systems and neural latencies, might perceive light's travel time differently. To test this, the authors propose an experiment comparing human and fly neural responses to light pulses, using Visual Evoked Potentials for humans and calcium imaging for flies. If species register different light-travel times, it would imply that perceptual constraints shape what we call the speed of light. A null result would either confirm its universality or highlight the limits of human instruments for accessing nonhuman perception. The idea invites rethinking physical constants as perceptual boundaries.