Many times when you have experienced the phenomenon, you might have thought that it was an extremely difficult task to muster. But, not only it is too difficult, it is impossible to do so according to this guy Numberphile who is a famous Youtuber. If you take out a single currency note, drop it and then try to catch it, I am sure you won’t be able to do it no matter how big or small your hands are. According to Numberphile, there is actually a mathematical explanation why it cannot be done. Here is his justification:
Now this trick is commonly used by friends to strip each other of some money. Now you have to know that guessing when the note is going to drop can help you anticipate its drop, so that’s not a reaction time at all. That is anticipation, and that’s why sportspersons are so successful with such short reaction times because their experience has given them an understanding of the game in which they can predict what’s going to happen before it happens. The average reaction time of a human being is 0.2 seconds. I guess some people are able to fine-tune it with the help of various reaction apps available in the app stores and related exercises as well.
This reminds me of the game we used to play in childhood where the losing guy had to dodge slaps on his joined palms. Since the reaction time is so small, you cannot do it if you can’t anticipate the movement of your opponent. It works both ways!