the.com/threshold
the line you must cross to become someone who has crossed it
means The bottom of a doorway you step over to enter, or more broadly the point at which something begins or a limit is crossed.
from From Old English 'therscold' or 'threscold,' tied to 'threscan,' to thresh — the same word for beating grain to separate it from chaff. The likeliest story: the threshold was the board at the door that held back the loose 'thresh' (straw or grain stalks) strewn on the floor, keeping it from spilling out. The '-old' ending is genuinely murky and has puzzled etymologists for centuries, so beware anyone who explains it too confidently.
- word origin
- likely from threshing grain on the doorway floor
- liminal zone
- anthropologists call in-between states neither here nor there
- nerve math
- neurons fire only past a fixed voltage trigger
- superstition
- carrying brides over doorways guards against bad luck
- perception
- the smallest detectable stimulus is the absolute threshold
pain gate control theory — melzack and wall's 1965 model showing how pain signals are modulated at the spinal cord before reaching the brain
absolute threshold hearing — 20 micropascals at 1000 hz, the quietest sound the average human ear can detect
seizure threshold epilepsy — individual neurological limit that varies per person; lowered by sleep deprivation, stress, or flashing lights at 15-20 hz