One thing we do know is that our perception of time often gets distorted. That is, what we intuitively think about the passage of time differs from the actual ‘clock time’. Let’s think about some examples. Time slows down during a crisis
Many have personally felt that time slowed down during a frightening experience. For example, I was once a passenger in a high speed car accident whereby our car lost control and flipped three times. While it all happened in an instant, I remembered details about each flip of the car. Perhaps you have also experienced this.Some great experiments on this experience include - spider-phobic individuals predicting time while facing off against spiders; people performing tasks while jumping from frightening heights (into safety nets); and measuring the reactions of people walking both towards and away from a danger zone. One of these researchers (David Eagleman) claims that what happens is that “frightening events are associated with richer and denser memories”, and therefore “the more memory you have of an event, the longer you believe it took”.
Time flies when you’re having fun.
Actually, time flies when you’re fully engaged in something, and often it may not be fun. Anthony Chaston (from the University of British Columbia) sums it up well - ”time flies whenever your attention is really engaged in an activity, and you’re trying to monitor the passage of time” .Hence, if your work day flies then perhaps it is because (a) you are fully engaged in your work, and (b) you are aware of a tight deadline. Something to think about - apparently, a good indication of a student doing well in an exam is that the exam times goes quickly.
Time goes faster as you get older
Do you remember as a kid how each Christmas would take forever to arrive? Now, the years are clicking over so fast you want Christmas to take forever to arrive. Have you heard the saying – “Life is like a roll of toilet paper; the closer to the end you get, the faster it goes”.Why does time seem to go faster as you get older? Perhaps it is because we are busier and our days are packed with more commitments and responsibilities than our childhood. Perhaps it is a just a function of relative age. For example, a year is 20% of a five year old life, whereas a year represents just 2% of a 50 year old life. Then again, perhaps it’s just as you get older life losses a newness about it and seeming less remarkable and re-memorable feels shorter.
Summary
In summary, of course the rate of time doesn’t really change. What changes is our perception and awareness of time. In this weird world we all experience our own distorted view of time.Quotes
- “When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute and it’s longer than any hour. That’s relativity.” (Albert Einstein)
- "There are moments, you reach moments, when all of a sudden time stops and becomes eternal.” (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
References
Hancock P.A & Weaver J.L , "On time distortion under stress", Therertical issues in ergonomics science, Vol 6, No 2, Taylor & Francis Group, March - April 2005, 193-211, www.mit.ucf.edu/TimePercept/Hancock_Weaver_2005.pdfHendrick B., "It's true: Happy times do fly by", The Atlanta Journal - Constitution, Atlanta, Ga: Sep 12, 2004.
Hill J, "Time: Does it slow down in a crisis?", Nov 5, 2008, The Daily Galaxy, http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/11/time-does-it-sl.html
Stetson C, Fiesta MP, Eagleman DM (2007), "Does Time Really Slow Down During a Frightening Event?", PLos ONE 2(12), http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0001295
A little time, well spent.
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