Why is it so hard to swat a fly? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why is it so hard to swat a fly?

#61

Post by meowface » Sun, Sep 17, 2017, 4:52 PM UTC

apl wrote: post #12

As someone who works in visual neuroscience, this article's a tough read. Lots of statements that are semi-accurate at best. 1) Eyes don't work like cameras; there's no real "exposure" phase as such (even though there's lots of thresholds). So it's misleading to talk about discrete images that we sample at some fixed frequency. Instead, it's much more helpful to think of photoreceptors and subsequent processing stage…

Regarding point 3, I have no sources at the moment but have read several scientific articles in the past claiming that different organisms really do have a fundamentally faster or slower perception of continuous time, and also that drugs can temporarily influence this perception. Is there no truth to this at all?

Re: Why is it so hard to swat a fly?

#62

Post by addHocker » Sun, Sep 17, 2017, 4:53 PM UTC

wruza wrote: post #20

adekok wrote: post #5

If you want to catch a stationary fly, it's pretty easy to do so with your bare hands. The key thing to know is that they jump backward before taking flight. Aim for a spot about 1-2" behind the fly, and about 1-2" above the fly. Try to catch it there , and your success percentage will be high.

The perspective of cathing a fly that walked on crap five minutes ago disgusts me. I know they cleanse their paws more often than I do mine, but faugh.

The real disgusting thing here are wasps.. who will go for dead rodents- and then move on to grab food from your plate.

Re: Why is it so hard to swat a fly?

#63

Post by autokad » Sun, Sep 17, 2017, 5:03 PM UTC

dsego wrote: post #59

autokad wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i always found it easy catching flies, especially in air, but squishing their guyts all over my hands is what bothers me most. an easy way to catch flies is to put rubbing alcohol in a squirt gun. even less than direct hits takes them out of the sky, and the alcohol cleans stuff in collateral damage.

Keep it trapped and walk to the sink, turn on faucet and throw it in.

i dont have the coordination to grab them out of mid air carefully without squishing them. for me its sort of an all in event.

Re: Why is it so hard to swat a fly?

#64

Post by SomeStupidPoint » Sun, Sep 17, 2017, 5:08 PM UTC

i_feel_great wrote: post #9

Three techniques: 1. Move your open hand towards the fly very slowly until you are 5cm (2 in) away then slap. 2. Move both hands slowly towards the fly and "clap" to catch it. 3. Blow gently downwards onto the fly, then slowly increase the force of the blowing. You might then be able to pin its wing to the surface. Yes, I have a lot of time on my hands.

I like the electrified swatters.

Mostly because they make an awesome sound.

Also, the greatly reduced drag and holes in the surface give fewer warnings to the fly that it's about to be hit, while the use of a tool allows for faster hits. It's really a pretty great invention to kill a lot of flying insects.

Re: Why is it so hard to swat a fly?

#65

Post by roceasta » Sun, Sep 17, 2017, 5:28 PM UTC

jwilk wrote: post #42

roceasta wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Bring the hand close very slowly, forefinger cocked... then....pow. Other techniques I've employed: (1) cling film (saran wrap), (2) detergent spray (slows em down; dispatch after 2-4 rounds), (3) vacuum cleaner nozzle (they hunker down but are sucked in upon take-off)

What do you do with cling film?

Slow approach with a sheet 20-30cm wide held at opposite edges by both hands. The film being transparent the fly sometimes doesn't notice it. Also a convenient means of disposal.

Re: Why is it so hard to swat a fly?

#66

Post by fatjokes » Sun, Sep 17, 2017, 5:38 PM UTC

baybal2 wrote: post #21

fatjokes wrote: post #11

I have perfected this. I can even stop them mid-flight. Spray at it with any liquid (e.g. water, household cleaner). It may take a couple of squirts but it's easy as it doesn't need to be exact. The fly will fall to the ground where you can just squash it with a tissue.

A more high-tech solution: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1pcs-Hot-Worldwide-Electric-...

Have one of those. They don't work.

Re: Why is it so hard to swat a fly?

#67

Post by paublyrne » Sun, Sep 17, 2017, 5:39 PM UTC

taneq wrote: post #19

apl wrote: post #12

As someone who works in visual neuroscience, this article's a tough read. Lots of statements that are semi-accurate at best. 1) Eyes don't work like cameras; there's no real "exposure" phase as such (even though there's lots of thresholds). So it's misleading to talk about discrete images that we sample at some fixed frequency. Instead, it's much more helpful to think of photoreceptors and subsequent processing stage…

Thanks for the informed opinion. I know way less about animal vision than machine vision but the statement that eyes have a "frame rate" and "send images to the brain a fixed number of times a second" smelled really bad. A maybe-dumb question about point (3) - I've noticed that when I get a blink/flinch response from something (usually some sand or a bug hitting my face when I'm on the bike), it feels like I blink ju…

(Alternately, I read something once about our perception of audio being delayed by ~100ms so that it synchs up with our perception of vision

If such a delay does occur it is considerably less than 100ml as that kind of latency would be very noticeable playing a musical instrument.

Re: Why is it so hard to swat a fly?

#68

Post by nitrogen » Sun, Sep 17, 2017, 6:10 PM UTC

paublyrne wrote: post #67

taneq wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the informed opinion. I know way less about animal vision than machine vision but the statement that eyes have a "frame rate" and "send images to the brain a fixed number of times a second" smelled really bad. A maybe-dumb question about point (3) - I've noticed that when I get a blink/flinch response from something (usually some sand or a bug hitting my face when I'm on the bike), it feels like I blink ju…

(Alternately, I read something once about our perception of audio being delayed by ~100ms so that it synchs up with our perception of vision If such a delay does occur it is considerably less than 100ml as that kind of latency would be very noticeable playing a musical instrument.

Is it possible that there is a delay for one-off unanticipated events, but the feedback loop we form between perception and playing is much tighter? I definitely have a hard time playing anything with much more than 5ms audio buffers myself.

Re: Why is it so hard to swat a fly?

#69

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Sep 17, 2017, 6:13 PM UTC

apl wrote: post #12

As someone who works in visual neuroscience, this article's a tough read. Lots of statements that are semi-accurate at best. 1) Eyes don't work like cameras; there's no real "exposure" phase as such (even though there's lots of thresholds). So it's misleading to talk about discrete images that we sample at some fixed frequency. Instead, it's much more helpful to think of photoreceptors and subsequent processing stage…

[deleted]

Re: Why is it so hard to swat a fly?

#70

Post by Agathos » Sun, Sep 17, 2017, 6:15 PM UTC

After reading these comments, I'm starting to wonder if I'm the only one who owns an old-fashioned flyswatter. With a long, stiff handle and a flick of the wrist, it moves a lot faster than a fly. I've even stunned them by hitting them in mid-air.