“The problem, then, is less how much time people have than how they see it. Ever since a clock was first used to synchronise labour in the 18th century, time has been understood in relation to money. Once hours are financially quantified, people worry more about wasting, saving or using them profitably. When economies grow and incomes rise, everyone’s time becomes more valuable. And the more valuable something becomes, the scarcer it seems.” the economist
Tag Archives: time
on interstellar and the illusion of time.
i saw interstellar last night and it’s a great movie. not perfect by any means, but it’s sci-fi and even Neil DeGrasse Tyson is okay with the ending.
many of the theories in the film are explored in the embedded NOVA episode, “The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time” which has quotes from physicists that sound like they could be buddhist monks – e.g. “everything that has ever happened or will happen – it all exists.” and from an NPR story on the show, “Our days certainly seem numbered. We long to know if this countdown to darkness is real, or simply the trick of a more limited perspective.”
for even more Deep Thoughts About Time, give a listen to the Radiolab Time episode and remember that all of this has happened before and all of this will happen again.
Fast Time and the Aging Mind
folks studying time perception have found, counterintuitively, that the idea that time speeds up as you get older appears to be a myth. if fact, as you get older you’re recording memories differently, “…first memories are dense. The routines of later life are sketchy. The past wasn’t really slower than the present. It just feels that way.”. when i first learned about the psychology of time perception, i discovered a simple way test how first memories affect perception of time. drive somewhere new and pay attention to how long it feels it’s taking ( we’re talking touchy feely perceptions here, not elapsed time ), then drive back at about the same speed and pay attention to how long it feels. the trip back will usually feel dramatically faster. eloquently on the perception of fast time and the aging mind, “It’s simple: if you want time to slow down, become a student again. Learn something that requires sustained effort; do something novel.” [ via daringfireball ]