…stant they felt the conscious urge to do so. Meanwhile, their brain activity was monitored via EEG. The results were, at first glance, stunning: a measurable rise in brain activity — the so-called readiness potential (or Bereitschaftspotential) — was detected up to 500 milliseconds before the subjects became consciously aware of their decision. In other words, their brains “knew” what they were going to do before they did.
