# Perception of time and aging



## Ngg (Jul 22, 2010)

Okay NTs, please tell me what you think of my theory.

"Time flies", "life is short". These maxims are in my mind figurative ways of expressing the same and only cognitive phenomena: your perception of time gets faster as you get older.

Let me illustrate this phenomena with a basic example.
Say you travel a route for the first time. Your perception of time will be really slow since you are being bombarded with new stimuli and sensations; trying to remember the path you took; being aware of your surroundings, all of these contribute to a perception of _slowness_. How many times do you find yourself thinking "That took forever!".
But say you take that same route for the 3rd, 4th or nth time. Your impression of that journey will often seem _much _shorter. You will get lost in thought and suddenly you have already arrived. 
I've seen this happen to me numerous times, whether it be a subway ride, a long walk, or a commute by car.

This example can be taken and expanded at the level of our existence. _In effect, as you get older, the new sensations and stimuli become far and few between, since your knowledge of the world is wider._ Most objects and experiences are no longer new and mysterious to you - you  glance at them and disregard them just as quickly. You settle into a routine, which is only rarely broken by the arrival of new experiences. Working is of course the main causal factor behind that routine - but beyond the structural constraints of employment, your day to day becomes routine because most objects and experiences you encounter are already familiar. 

In fact, I think a major reason why in this age, active professionals feel the urge to cram as much work and activities into their day as possible, is a fundamental anxiety with respect to this phenomena. They are compelled to fit in as many discrete experiences and objects, eating, drinking, indulging in material goods in order to generate a sense of comfort: that time is NOT escaping from them, that all their brain cycles are being used as much as possible.

I think a better alternative would be to _seek out new experiences _and _learn whenever you have the chance, to __extract ourselves from the flight of time_ that occurs in the known world. Or practice "mindfulness", the idea being to be open and curious to such a degree that even the ordinary becomes novel (I think Ni is good at that).


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## Solrac026 (Mar 6, 2012)

"In fact, I think a major reason why in this age, active professionals feel the urge to cram as much work and activities into their day as possible, is a fundamental anxiety with respect to this phenomena. They are compelled to fit in as many discrete experiences and objects, eating, drinking, indulging in material goods in order to generate a sense of comfort: that time is NOT escaping from them, that all their brain cycles are being used as much as possible."

I agree and here is why. I perceive time as going by slower when I have less to do than when I have nothing to do and am bored. I am more inclined to say that time flies when you are having fun (or are busy.) I'm sure you have noticed your friends say "that went by quick" after a fun day. Turn that into the worst activity you have ever been in and I think you would agree that your perception of time would slow down.


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## hela (Feb 12, 2012)

You veered a little too philosophical/sentimental with your conclusion, but it's otherwise a decent theory.


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## thatprettichick (Mar 29, 2011)

I like this theory, but I have another one. I've always heard from older folk that time seems to pass more quickly as you grow older purely due to the increasing amount of time that you've already lived.

Tell a kindergarten student and a forty-year-old man that you'll give them a present in two weeks. To the child, the two weeks will pass by *so* slowly; to the grown man, the two weeks will pass marginally slowly, but not quite miserably so. Two weeks constitutes a larger percentage of the child's life than of the man's; the man has lived many more multiples of two weeks than the child- he's been through this many, many times already. Not to mention he can remember it.


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## chaoticbrain (May 5, 2012)

I oddly remember being in kindergarten and thinking "man this year has gone by fast". Maybe that idea is nonsense, maybe people think time is going by faster because they are more aware of their deaths.


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