If "longer signal processing ways" are the cause for the perceived speed up of time, then every minute, every hour would feel shorter, wouldn't it? This isn't what most people are experiencing as they age though - single days pass just as fast (or slow) as they did back in the days. But it's the months and years that feel like on fast forward.
Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)
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Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
I think a lot depends on what timescales you consider to be "speeded up". I don't think the perception that a huge amount of stuff happens between the ages of 16 and 18 and seems like it was only last week between the ages of 30 and 35 has much to do with cognitive decline. Feelings of WTF it's two hours later and I feel like I've only been editing for 10 minutes and just need 10 minutes more, likely are linked to cognitive decline, but I'm young enough to only have that feeling when I'm really, really tired, and I sometimes had it when I was 20 too...
Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)
#43Another 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.
Anecdotally, I've seen this happen on a very small scale.
The first time I drive down a road it seems longer than subsequent times. Once parts of the road become familiar the time it takes to get down the road seems shorter.
Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)
#44There 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.
This is mathematically true, but it does not explain the effect. It reminded me of the calories in, calories out thing.
You gain weight because you eat more calories that you burn. This is, again, mathematically correct, but it offers no explanation of the why
Why do you eat more than you burn ? you move too little ? you eat too much ? your brain malfunctions and it is unable to detect food intake ?
Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)
#45Age might result in neural complexities, but this can apparently be tampered with to some extent.
When you watch a movie for the first time, it seems to last longer than when you watch it a second time. It seems to me that as our brain is processing new information our perception of time is dilated.
As we grow older, we have to learn less about the world and consequently time is perceived as quicker. I suspect this is why during a drug induced euphoria the experience seems like it can last an eternity and time ceases to exist. Our brain is processing and adapting to the stimuli much as we were doing in our youth.
There are of course two different perceptions of time. Current and retrospective. Some days can seem to last forever, but by the end of the week you end up feeling like the week went by very fast. The opposite is true, as well as a mix of both.
Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)
#46https://archive.md/664b8
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Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)
#47I thought it was faster because every time unit was a smaller percentage of the total time we had been alive.
I learnt something new.
Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)
#48Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)
#49Another 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 repetiti…
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Re: Why time “speeds up” as we get older (2019)
#50Another 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.
> Another hunch that I have is that as you get older you tend to have less unique experiences
I have read that explanation several times on different websites, but I don't agree. Had a lot of new and unique things happening to me in the past decade (kids, moving, new job, new country,...). Times still flew. I have talked to friends about this and they have noticed the same thing.