Funny Question... Is it just me or is time going faster as it moves on?

Question

Why is it that when ever the years move on, it seems like it moves faster and faster? I mean when I was about 12 years old, time moved so dang slowly as I kept watchin the clocks go waiting for class to end, but now, I'm fifteen, and months are passing by like pilots smashing down on the afterburner.

Answer 1

I read an article about this recently. This perception exists because, as you get older, your brain forms less robust memories of events. This occurs partly because, as a more experienced individual, you have seen and perceived many of these things before; your brain recognizes that it already knows about these things, and it doesn't need to create new memories. Since you effectively remember less, it feels like less has happened and thus that less time has passed.

Answer 2

It is possible that our perception of time is based on three things- one, how many events are occuring in a unit of time, and two, how many experiences we have already had, and three, our emotional state.

First, when not much happens in (for instance) an hour and we are young, there is often very little to occupy our minds so the time seems to drag out forever. We perceive "how little distraction there is" or "how little thinking there is" and we get bored.

If many things happen, then our minds are occupied and time passes rapidly for us, as we are too busy to think about how much time is passing.

Second, the more we know and experience, the more we think. This means that even when not much is happening, we might have many things to think about, and so our time is occupied.

This also explains why, as we age, time seems to pass more rapidly. We have things to think about and we do not notice how much time has passed.

Third, our emotions can change the perception of time. If we are in a panic or a life-and-death situation, things can appear to be moving in slow motion. This is because our minds are running at top speed, trying to make sense of things or respond as quickly as possible. In that space of time, we have so many thoughts so rapidly that time appears to stretch out and take longer.

So it would appear that the rate of thinking (or the number of thoughts per unit of time) determines our perception of time. Novelty is the key here. More novel experiences makes time pass swiftly, powerful emotions such as fear can make time move more slowly for us, and analyzing a new situation can make us unaware of how time is passing.

Answer 3

Have you considered the possibility that time is, in fact, moving faster? Leading Scientists have recently discovered a link between the gravitational pull of the Earth while within orbit of our Sun and the rapid acceleration of man made time pieces. Days are, Scientists claim, getting progressively and uncontrollably shorter at the same pace as clocks are increasing in speed. Expressed as a mathematical equation: D=C+G(X).

In fact, one could argue, you are not exempt from these natural forces, either. As the rotation of the Earth, counter-balanced to the velocity of the planet as it orbits the Sun, with equal congruence between it and the Moon, increases, cellular aging and cognitive deterioration act in concert to create not only the figurative, but literal quickening of the human metabolism and cellular growth patterns. These patterns over time create small and tightly knit networks of cerebral electromagnetic current which connect and exchange impulses at an exponentially increasing rate.

Currently, the quickening is something of a phenomenon, possibly a by-product of global climate change or increased northern mobility within certain ethnic community subsets. Many are worried that this irreversible progression will lead to day and night cycles so short that the average 15 year old American male will need 2 days to take a standardized math test and an additional 3 days to gain enough REM sleep to continue optimal performance. This could potentially lead to a worsening of the diabetes and obesity epidemics, as people will be consuming more calories, transfats, and complex sugars to compensate for the increased stress placed on the human body and mind from new, intensely rigorous schedules.

Fortunately, new and exciting technology will allow us to continue our productive lifestyles unabated. Drugs and possibly gene therapy will allow us to extend the distance between cerebral synapses to negligible intervals. Phizer Pharmaceuticals (currently trading in the NYSE under PFE) is on the cutting edge of this science and are currently testing medication to deal with the expected increased damage to the human cardiovascular system due to the increased gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon against our Earth. Stock in Phizer is near its 52 week low; BUY NOW! You will need this additional revenue stream to fuel your appetite for complex carbohydrates and heart medication.

I hope this has been helpful.

Answer 4

It all depends on what you have to compare it to. If you had been alive for 1000 years then 1 month would go by in the blink of an eye. So everything feels like it is speeding up as you get older.

Answer 5

Its how our mind compares things without our even realizing. A four year old thinks summer lasts forever becous those four months are a major percent of its life. as we grow in years the percent of those same four months becomes smaller, and smaller and so on.

Answer 6

It's all in your mind. If you do not like something, time seems to go slow when you are actually spending time on that thing. It seems to faster when you are doing something you like.

Answer 7

it is that u did not know how 2 see time at that time but now u know it so u c it go faster

Answer 8

If you think time flies when you're 15, just wait till you're 50!

Answer 9

its just you. i feel the same way. actually time is not moving anyfaster. its just a perception we have.

Answer 10

That's what you call LIFE!