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Perception Of Time - 12/6/2013 10:16:30 PM

MistressDarkArt

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Remember when you were a kid and summer vacations seemed to last forever? Now I'm in my mid-50s my perception of time is speeding up more and more. Same with friends my age. Have you noticed this too? Would someone explain why this phenomenon occurs?

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RE: Perception Of Time - 12/7/2013 5:45:09 AM

sloguy02246

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This made me recall an email full of "old age" maxims, one of them being:

"Living a life is like pulling the end of a roll of toilet paper. The closer to the end you get, the faster it turns."

I'm turning 68 in January, and while I admit to being more aware that my remaining time is much less than it used to be, I don't feel that time is passing any faster than it used to.

I guess if I subscribe to any "philosophy" about one's life cycle speeding up or slowing down, it's this:

If you are happy, your days are short and your years are long.
If you are unhappy, your days are long and your years are short.

As I look back at the last 30 years or so, the only period where time seems to have sped up was a 5 year period of almost continuous unemployment in the early 90's. Very rough and unhappy time for me and my family and in retrospect that time period seems to have flown by at supersonic speed. (But each individual day seemed to last forever.)
Not so for the last 16 years (from the point where I got a good, permanent job again).

< Message edited by sloguy02246 -- 12/7/2013 5:47:23 AM >

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RE: Perception Of Time - 12/7/2013 12:45:20 PM

MistressDarkArt

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quote:

ORIGINAL: sloguy02246

This made me recall an email full of "old age" maxims, one of them being:

"Living a life is like pulling the end of a roll of toilet paper. The closer to the end you get, the faster it turns."

I find this true of my gas gauge as well. The last half of the tank seems to go much faster than the first.

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RE: Perception Of Time - 12/7/2013 1:33:08 PM

VeryMercurial

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I read somewhere, that as we grow older, our lives tend to become very routine.
When most of your life is routine, time seems to pass very quickly.
Think of all the new experiences and major changes you experienced when you were younger.

I remember often partying until 3 a.m. during the week, than getting up at 6:30 and going to work.
Personally, I am trying to incorporate many big and small changes to my daily routines.

< Message edited by VeryMercurial -- 12/7/2013 1:36:53 PM >

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RE: Perception Of Time - 12/7/2013 1:48:08 PM

EchoTango

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The answer to this is that the first year of your life is 1/1, i.e. a whole year.
When you are 2, a year is 1/2 your life, i.e. half.
When you are 20, a year is 1/20th of your life, i.e. 5%
When you are 50, a year is 1/50th of your life, i.e. 2%

And so on. While time is constant, the perception is reduced each year.
Hope this helps!

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RE: Perception Of Time - 12/7/2013 2:27:32 PM

MistressDarkArt

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quote:

ORIGINAL: VeryMercurial

I read somewhere, that as we grow older, our lives tend to become very routine.
When most of your life is routine, time seems to pass very quickly.
Think of all the new experiences and major changes you experienced when you were younger.

I remember often partying until 3 a.m. during the week, than getting up at 6:30 and going to work.
Personally, I am trying to incorporate many big and small changes to my daily routines.

Excellent. I think I'll follow suit.

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RE: Perception Of Time - 12/7/2013 2:28:53 PM

MistressDarkArt

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quote:

ORIGINAL: EchoTango

The answer to this is that the first year of your life is 1/1, i.e. a whole year.
When you are 2, a year is 1/2 your life, i.e. half.
When you are 20, a year is 1/20th of your life, i.e. 5%
When you are 50, a year is 1/50th of your life, i.e. 2%

And so on. While time is constant, the perception is reduced each year.
Hope this helps!

Thank you! That makes every bit of sense. And welcome to the boards, Echo!

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RE: Perception Of Time - 12/7/2013 2:46:38 PM

freedomdwarf1

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quote:

ORIGINAL: MistressDarkArt

quote:

ORIGINAL: EchoTango

The answer to this is that the first year of your life is 1/1, i.e. a whole year.
When you are 2, a year is 1/2 your life, i.e. half.
When you are 20, a year is 1/20th of your life, i.e. 5%
When you are 50, a year is 1/50th of your life, i.e. 2%

And so on. While time is constant, the perception is reduced each year.
Hope this helps!

Thank you! That makes every bit of sense. And welcome to the boards, Echo!

I'm finding the opposite.

As I get older, I'm finding time during the day is getting shorter but the overall year is getting much much longer.
So I don't agree with that hypothesis at all.

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RE: Perception Of Time - 12/7/2013 3:07:14 PM

jlf1961

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As we grow older, we move faster through time, compare your perception as a child of the period between Christmas one year and the next.

As older adults, we suffer from a paradoxical reversal in Einstein's law of relativity.

However, what really makes the physics of this phenomena is the fact that even though we are moving faster through time, people who are in their own time streams are able to interact with us.

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RE: Perception Of Time - 12/7/2013 3:09:36 PM

LookieNoNookie

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quote:

ORIGINAL: MistressDarkArt

Remember when you were a kid and summer vacations seemed to last forever? Now I'm in my mid-50s my perception of time is speeding up more and more. Same with friends my age. Have you noticed this too? Would someone explain why this phenomenon occurs?

I'm still 27 (until I look in the mirror).

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RE: Perception Of Time - 12/7/2013 9:12:45 PM

MasterCaneman

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quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961

As we grow older, we move faster through time, compare your perception as a child of the period between Christmas one year and the next.

As older adults, we suffer from a paradoxical reversal in Einstein's law of relativity.

However, what really makes the physics of this phenomena is the fact that even though we are moving faster through time, people who are in their own time streams are able to interact with us.

But wouldn't they be blue-shifting as we approached them? Or do you have to approach relativistic speeds for that?

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