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Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)

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Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)

#21
post #6

Another hunch that I have is that as you get older you tend to have less unique experiences. I believe our brains compress the information and an entire day that was much like the previous day can just feel like it sped by quickly. Alternatively, if you go on vacation or change your routine then time will slow down as you process a lot of new information.

This is a much more compelling argument than the article's.

Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)

#22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not immediately obvious to me why this would result in the perception that time moves more quickly. The theory in the article did strike me as quite plausible.

It is kind of horrifying though - it is in your face evidence of cognitive decline.

Right, and as a long term participant in this realm, I can definitely say that the speeding up is far greater than any cognitive decline I’ve had so far. To be sure - since it’s certainly possible that one wouldn’t notice one’s own decline, I do online courses periodically to 1) learn new stuff and 2) assure myself that the decline isn’t yet too severe.

Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)

#23
post #6

Another hunch that I have is that as you get older you tend to have less unique experiences. I believe our brains compress the information and an entire day that was much like the previous day can just feel like it sped by quickly. Alternatively, if you go on vacation or change your routine then time will slow down as you process a lot of new information.

> Alternatively, if you go on vacation or change your routine then time will slow down as you process a lot of new information.

Yeah...the first week of a new job feels like a month of the previous job. Four months into it now, and the weeks fly by.

While on vacation, the days feel long. Though once I get back, the week felt short. :-\

I worry about what retirement will be like. On one hand, all my time is free time. On the other, 10 years will probably fly by and I'll have no idea where it went.

Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)

#24
post #6

Another hunch that I have is that as you get older you tend to have less unique experiences. I believe our brains compress the information and an entire day that was much like the previous day can just feel like it sped by quickly. Alternatively, if you go on vacation or change your routine then time will slow down as you process a lot of new information.

Truly gives a whole nother meaning to "wasting your life away at a job."

Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)

#26
I think time speeds up as we grow older because we constantly and subconsciously make predictions. If we subjectively measure time by the flow of unexpected events, as we age, fewer of our predictions are wrong, so there are fewer such events, which speeds up time. New experiences and places slow it down again.

Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)

#27
post #6

Another hunch that I have is that as you get older you tend to have less unique experiences. I believe our brains compress the information and an entire day that was much like the previous day can just feel like it sped by quickly. Alternatively, if you go on vacation or change your routine then time will slow down as you process a lot of new information.

This is the typical explanation, and it meshes very well with everyone's day to day experiences.

Vacations to unique places last forever. Never been? Spend 2 weeks in Japan and you'll remember it just as vividly as the best summer from your childhood. Every moment of every day will be long and filled with memories.

Debugging code every day? Yeah of course that's not memorable. Your brain is just tossing away repetitive data.

Feeling like life is going by way too quick? Have a kid. Every day with a baby is unique.

People with large families will have lived 200 subjective years by the time they are 70!

Other advice: Stop doing stuff you are good at. Every few years try to take a new job that you are specifically not good at. Companies that hire people who have succeeded at a lot of different things but not necessarily the thing they are hiring for are likely to be very good places to work. (FWIW my current workplace doesn't hire based on language or tools or background, we hire good people and assume they can pick up what we are doing).

Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)

#28
post #6

Another hunch that I have is that as you get older you tend to have less unique experiences. I believe our brains compress the information and an entire day that was much like the previous day can just feel like it sped by quickly. Alternatively, if you go on vacation or change your routine then time will slow down as you process a lot of new information.

This is it

Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)

#29
post #3

There is a simpler layman's explanation for this one. As you get older every second of your life starts being a smaller percentage of your overall experience. When you a 2 years old, 1 hour is 1/17520 of your life. When you are 50 years old, 1 hour is 1/438000 of your life.

That's a common argument. Veritasium explores this and IMO the alternative arguments are more compelling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIx2N-viNwY

Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)

#30
post #6

Another hunch that I have is that as you get older you tend to have less unique experiences. I believe our brains compress the information and an entire day that was much like the previous day can just feel like it sped by quickly. Alternatively, if you go on vacation or change your routine then time will slow down as you process a lot of new information.

Indeed. Our brains are good at 'compressing' similar experiences.
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