pmd@cbscc.UUCP (Paul Dubuc) (04/03/84)
I think changing time perception has to do with the greater amount of things (many of them done as part of a routine) adults have to fill up their time. I don't it is linked to just growing older. How fast does time go for a man serving a life sentence in prison, or for one who is 85 years old and in a nursing home? Paul Dubuc
rtf@ihuxw.UUCP (sparrow) (04/03/84)
<blank line> I have my own theory as to why time seems to pass more quickly as one grows older. I believe it is because as one grows older there is less and less that happens that is worth remebering. As a child the day seems endless because everything is a new experience and takes a great deal of mental energy to comprehend. The older one becomes the less new experiences there are. Life becomes routine and the events of the day are lost due to lack of interest. As a child the new events of a year seem endless where as an adult the new events of a year are very limited. A child has 12 to 14 hours each day to discover something new an adult has 6 to 8 hours each day, perhaps less depending on work load. A child looks forward to each new day where an adult tends to look forward only to the weekends or maybe only vacation once a year. It is no surprize to me that time passes more quickly now than when I was young. It takes a great deal of effort to create new experiences worth remebering every day therefore many days pass almost on a subliminal level. As one grows older the joy and excitement of discovery becomes more and more elusive. sparrow
sam@rocksvax.UUCP (Sam Houston) (04/03/84)
x Interesting speculations. I can't help on the physiologic reasons, but once came up, in conjunction with a fellow bored carpooler, that one's perception of time passage has to do with the newness of the events one is experiencing in a given "absolute" time interval. For a child, a great number of new things are experienced each day; whereas for an adult most daily events are very old hat.. If true, this theory would imply a constant search for newness to have time last forever. What that would mean in terms of your continued mental and physical health I leave to speculation! sam
barbuto@idis.UUCP (indstd anthony barbuto) (04/03/84)
I think that it is simply a matter of relative perception. For a one year old child one day is 1/350 of its life. For a ten year old its 1/35... Could it be that as one has experienced so many days, months, years that over a life time each day, relative to the total length of existence, seems increasingly shorter?
mrl@drutx.UUCP (04/04/84)
<> Hmm... Interesting! I have thought the same question from time to time, but the only logical explaination I was able to come up with (my own, of course, which is unsubstantiated by any scientific proof) is that as you get older, you have been alive longer, therefore a time span relative to your life gets shorter; i.e. when you are 5 years old, 1 year was 20% of your own memory and experiences, (a relatively large chunk) but when you are 50 that same piece of time is only 2%, which is a relatively short span of your entire experience Mark R. Longo AT&TISL - Denver
cooley@nmtvax.UUCP (04/06/84)
To generalize "time perception" to age groups seems incorrect.
Time tends to pass more slowly or more quickly depending on ones degree
of concentration or involvement.
I certainly have had time pass both slowly and quickly both as
an adult (ha) and as a child. Neuron decay shouldn't affect 'rate of
thinking' at all. Time seems to be more of a way of molding ones thoughts
into a cohesive pattern than anything.
Example: You write down a note about something at 2:00. Then you
read a book that is intensely interesting. Reading the book took ~2 hours.
You look at the Notepad, then at your clock and think 'Wow, it's been two
hours?'. Without environmental clues or logical deduction (I read x pages
per minute so...), you would think less time had passed.
If you really think about it you will realize how artificial a
'constant' rate of time is. Most people force themselves into a schedule
that does not take advantage of their peak 'mental activity periods', nor
compensate for their need for 'relaxation periods'.
Thaedeus Zefuldar
Twilight Zonefair@dual.UUCP (Erik E. Fair) (04/06/84)
OK, so why does waiting in line or in a traffic jam always seem so
INTERMINABLE? Minutes last forever!
Erik E. Fair
dual!fair@Berkeley.ARPA
{ihnp4,ucbvax,cbosgd,decwrl,amd70,fortune,zehntel}!dual!fair
Dual Systems Corporation, Berkeley, Californiarichard@sequent.UUCP (04/06/84)
Whatever the reason, I contiously find the results disturbing. Quick, how long ago was Patty Hearst kidnapped? I often read a followup news story that refers to an event years ago, and time that has passed doesn't feel that long. Remember way back to when Reagen was shot? How about when the speed limits were still 70 to 75? Hopeless. ___________________________________________________________________________ Time, time, time/ for another peaceful war/ but time stands still for Roland/ 'till he evens up the score... from the confused and bleeding fingertips of ...!sequent!richard