Human experience is hierarchically timed, and each layer runs on different neural machinery: a glance of 300 to 500 milliseconds captures attention; one second bundles glances into a single event; two to three seconds delivers meaning; ten to fifteen seconds builds perceptual continuity and a stable mental representation; thirty to ninety seconds sustains narrative attention. Content that respects these windows feels smooth and absorbing; content that violates them produces friction the viewer feels but cannot name. Shot length, cut pacing, reveal timing, and the latency of a system’s response are not stylistic choices, each one either meets the brain’s temporal expectations or violates them.