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Why time seems to pass faster as we age

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Re: Why time seems to pass faster as we age

#231

Post by makz »

MyFirstSass wrote: post #142
stared wrote: post #6

There is already a body of research on the perception of time as a function of age, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_perception#Changes_with_a... . It stems from a few things, and novelty is only one factor. (Also, it is not only that the world begins (to us) as full of novelty, but also most people gradually transition from exploration to exploitation.) In addition to remembering previous events, there is also…

The ticks per second thing is very interesting because of a something weird i encountered the other day - i suddenly realised seconds are WAY faster than they used to be. I play music so have a pretty good feel for rhythm and i distinctly remember the clock in a family members house ticking each second being way, way slower as a kid. Slept there the other day and it was fast as hell. So incredibly weird. I'm sure my…

Interesting just made a quick test and I'm off by around 30%, seconds seem to be faster by that amount.

Re: Why time seems to pass faster as we age

#232

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #75
WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> reviewing old entries provides a feeling of history that makes life feel soooo long and so rich. I don't disagree. But I think the flavor of the richness depends on the quality of the days. It is my experience that decades can also be built from days that ought not be preserved. Or at least not without strong curation and editorial treatments.

I have semi-regular journal notes going back over a decade, and my experience was opposite to GP - instead of discovering how many things happened in that time, I discovered my mind has been spinning in circles, trying to find solutions to the same problems, and despite feeling otherwise day-to-day, no actual progress has been made . It was an important discovery for me, though not much came of it anyway.

Ugh. I hadn't considered that. I had kids, a biz and a disabled wife. I had to achieve. Even then, some days I wasn't much capable. Other days I forced out results but at a high cost.

Re: Why time seems to pass faster as we age

#233

Post by RaoulP »

koyote wrote: post #155
fufufu123 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're apparently in a good place so looking back is your path to your joyful present. I'm in a bad place so looking back is my seeing back when I was still hopeful for my various life goals. I'd meet someone and have someone to share my life with, do activities with, travel with, raise kids with, etc. I never met that person and now at 60+ that's nearly impossible so looking back hurts. It hurts a-lot. Seeing the op…

> then committing 10 of them to move to a foreign country to immerse myself in a new language feels very different than when I've got 60 years left Could you elaborate on that? As someone who is younger I have noticed that many (but by no means all) people over 60 often do not want to commit to these kind of 'life-changing' escapades, despite now having the time (kids out of the house and/or retired). I assumed it wa…

It's kind of an investment. It's a chore to begin with, that hopefully pays off in the long run.

Moving to a foreign country with an unfamiliar culture and language, and establishing a new life there, is a chore. Probably even more so if you don't have a spouse or something who's familiar there:

Learn the language, the culture, establish or reestablish your daily habits, find new friends and ways to socialise, perhaps new hobbies if the old ones aren't available. Find out where and what to shop and how to cook, when the stuff you know is gone. Turn your house into a comfortable home, etc.

If you're older you might not feel that you'll get to see much of the payoff.

I also imagine it gets harder to find people who are open to new friendships, as you get older.

Re: Why time seems to pass faster as we age

#234

Post by druub »

Spooky23 wrote: post #141
fufufu123 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're apparently in a good place so looking back is your path to your joyful present. I'm in a bad place so looking back is my seeing back when I was still hopeful for my various life goals. I'd meet someone and have someone to share my life with, do activities with, travel with, raise kids with, etc. I never met that person and now at 60+ that's nearly impossible so looking back hurts. It hurts a-lot. Seeing the op…

My situation is different. I lost the love of my life and felt lost and alone. Even with the support of good friends and family. But that said, there’s alot of philosophy and other things to help. Aeschylus said “Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.” Another relevant quote is that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best is today. You won’t get what you wanted, but live in the pre…

sorry for your loss and thanks for sharing. At times I think I don't have the strength to go on after something like this happens to me. But so happy that you are able to still find joy.

Re: Why time seems to pass faster as we age

#235

Post by jerrygoyal »

Dopamine also plays a role in the perception of time. Basically, high dopamine gives more processing power it means you get higher frame rates so time feels slower. similarly, low dopamine leads to time flying quickly. Moreover, the speed at which we blink eyes also affects the perception of time.

(Learned this in one huberman podcast)

Re: Why time seems to pass faster as we age

#236

Post by munksbeer »

jvanderbot wrote: post #17

I've been journalling for 10+ years. In addition to forcing me to actually write down what happened that day, reviewing old entries provides a feeling of history that makes life feel soooo long and so rich. I can review my now-wife's rocky courtship and feel grateful we made it. I looked back 3 years ago and found the day our children were conceived :D (we have twins). I can review the anxieties of my PhD years, etc…

Thank you very much for this helpful comment and sharing your experience. It is really encouraging me to resume journaling, as I've made several efforts over the years but always fade away after a few months.

I'm sorry you've received negative comments in reply, it is weird that people feel the need to be so negative to someone trying to help. I just sometimes have a hard time understanding their mindset.

Re: Why time seems to pass faster as we age

#237

Post by scotty79 »

1234letshaveatw wrote: post #73
dougmwne wrote: post #51

I’ve learned that the passage of time is extremely relative. My college years were extremely full of new experiences and they feel like ages. Once I started working, my life was very rote and consisted mainly of driving from home to work and back again. I worked a lot of hours and vacations and weekend trips were infrequent. Time flew by. Then I ditched settled life and started traveling year round with a couple of b…

I'm sure from their perspective you are the one that stood still lol

I think they just wonder when the uneasiness that throws him constantly around the world subsides and he'll settle down comfortably in his own skin and mind and start living instead of constantly trying to escape from life into the world.

Re: Why time seems to pass faster as we age

#238

Post by ddmf »

I always thought it was because it's a ratio of how long we've been here, at 10 a year is an eternity, it's 10% of your life - you could do so much during the 6 weeks of summer holiday.

At 48 a year is just over 2% of your life, it's so fast almost supersonic.

Re: Why time seems to pass faster as we age

#239

Post by turzmo »

Madmallard wrote: post #147
larve wrote: post #118

One thing I love about the speedup of time is that picking a compounding habit (say, doing something for 10 minutes each day) feels like having an almost instant pay-off. "Oh wow 3 years already passed" -> "Oh wow I got pretty good at this thing I picked up just yesterday" I picked up biking during the pandemic, and 3 years later I have legs of steel, 10k miles under my belt, and people know me as "the bike guy", whe…

It kinda sucks that you learn much slower when you’re older though. I’ve been practicing piano an hour or two a day for 7 months and I don’t really feel like I’ve improved at all. I was intermediate when I started and I am taking professional lessons. Mid 30s here.

Not my experience at all… I learn faster at 40 than I did when I was younger. I don’t feel like anything is slower, plus I have the decision-making ability to actually do things efficiently as unappealing as that initially is.

Re: Why time seems to pass faster as we age

#240

Post by sneed_chucker »

dougmwne wrote: post #102
dingnuts wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

working and travelling on occasion -- "on an average net salary" implies not actually quitting your job -- is not what the GP described. The GP described quitting their job and going traveling for an entire decade, which is an incredible luxury over an enormous timespan that only the luckiest will ever be able to enjoy. The fact that the GP then chooses to treat this gift as though it makes him better than his collea…

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together;) I did make a choice, and it didn’t involve all that much luck beyond what everyone here has, a lucky break in a good career and a high income birth country. Actually there was bad luck, my partner and I were laid off at the same time. Sometimes the good comes from the bad. I don’t think I am better or worse, but I do push myself always to experience new th…

> Having biological children always struck me as very egocentric.

How else should people have children? Someone's genes are required, even if you do it in a test tube.

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