[quote]
LONDON - Making your way gloomily to the airport after an action-packed holiday, it is easy to feel the days have flown by all too quickly.
But there is no need to worry because once you return to the daily grind your break will suddenly seem like it lasted for a lifetime.
So say psychologists who believe that the effect is down to the different methods the brain uses to judge the passage of time.
Learning to manipulate our perception of time could make our lives feel fuller and reassure those who feel that the years slip by faster as they grow older.
The mystery behind the so-called "holiday paradox" was explained in a presentation by psychologist and BBC broadcaster Claudia Hammond at the British Psychological Society conference in London last week.
Ms Hammond, whose book Time Warped will be published next month, said when we are doing something new and interesting - such as when we are on holiday - time appears to go more quickly than when we are bored or anxious.
But when we look back retrospectively, our assessment of time is based on how many individual new memories we built up during that period, she explained.
The Daily Telegraph reported that in a normal fortnight the average person only accumulates between six and nine new memories because so much of what we do is routine.
But on a holiday we can build up that number of memories in a single day because everything we experience is new, meaning that when we look back it will seem to have lasted much longer than it really did.
She said: "The same happens as we get older and time starts to speed up. There are fewer memories of new things, and we do the same things more and more often."
People who complain that years seem to whizz past with increasing speed could slow things down by making the most of their weekends and breaking up their daily routine, she added.
"Taking a different route to work, getting off your bus a stop early or avoiding having the same sandwich for lunch every day could make life seem a little slower," she said. AGENCIES[/quote]
[url]http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC120421-0000093/Holiday-paradox-explains-why-time-flies[/url]
This is really awesome, I didn't know that. Up to this point in my life, I've been okay with time going fast; after all, I'm still quite young. But I'll remember this for the future for sure.
But still, I think when I'm older, I'd like the daily routines I've built up with my wife. As an old man and her as an old lady. Waking up at 7am, hobbling down to the kitchen to make some tea and get some breakfast. Sitting down with the woman I've spent my entire life with, enjoying our time together, glad to see another beautiful morning.
I wouldn't mind it so much I don't think.
I'll have to save this article somewhere...
Great information to know, I will put it to good use.
I have always thought this, nice to know it's been proven.
[quote]"The same happens as we get older and time starts to speed up. There are fewer memories of new things, and we do the same things more and more often."[/quote]
So doing new and exciting things makes your life mentally longer? Awesome!
Someone killed Holiday Ocelot!
That's quite interesting, I have a good feeling this strongly correlates with the reason nostalgia can come on so strong sometimes.
Good to know that this is true; I woke up at 4am and went to Chicago for the day and got back at around 5ish, it was pretty much the longest day I've ever mentally had.
I read a similar thing in the fantastic book "Moonwalking with Einstein" by Joshua Foer, and it explained that how long you live doesn't matter as much as the memories you create. The more you have, the longer you mentally live.
I have somehow always been aware of this, and I try as hard as I can to keep experiencing new things and old things in a new way.
I thought there was also something to do with the fact that the more you age, each portion of time is a smaller and smaller ratio of your entire life, making shorter in comparison as you get older.
Eh
I've noticed this before. I used to drive 30 miles to school and it seemed to not take long at all. Then I had to start going a different route over the same distance to pick up my friend daily and it felt a lot longer
so... in the future will be able to falsify longevity?
I've spent a shitload of time in airports (about 20 hours per each visit, 2 visits a year) and I haven't seen any difference between time with or without new memories yet. It's too fucking long even if you're riding a cleaning machine while eating a pizza or trying to sleep on a shitty bench.
[QUOTE=Bobie;35675184]so... in the future will be able to falsify longevity?[/QUOTE]
Snails figured this out a long time ago. The only reason they move so slow is because they're prolonging their days
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