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Showing posts from October, 2024

Slow Down or Speed Up: The Time Illusion

 My mom has been making a comment that is becoming a regular now-a-days. On Saturdays, she will say, “It feels like the week just started, but the weekend is already here.” At the start of each month, she will say, “The month just started, but the next one is already here.” One of my teammates echoed a similar sentiment recently. I believe this feeling is very common, and we may differ on whether we say this to someone or not. So, is the time really moving that fast? And for everyone? Of course, the actual time measurement is the same for all of us. It is our perception that makes time feel as if it is speeding up or slowing down, and that perception is deeply individual. While we have natural senses for things like sound or smell, we don’t have an innate sense to estimate time. For example, try starting a timer and then stopping it when you think a minute has passed without counting numbers, breaths, or using external cues. Chances are, you’ll stop too early. The point is that while w