If we go up several dozen more levels, we get to higher-level concepts like irony and envy. Even though every pattern recognizer is working simultaneously, it does take time for recognitions to move upward in this conceptual hierarchy. Traversing each level takes between a few hundredths to a few tenths of a second to process. Experiments have shown that a moderately high-level pattern such as a face takes at least a tenth of a second. It can take as long as an entire second if there are significant distortions.
