Remember when you were young ? Lets say entering elementary school. In Southern Ontario that meant you had to complete grade eight before te next step in you life. Those years took a long long time. the High school years seemed to take just as long. I just looked back at eight years of my life and my God, was that quick. I’m facing “official” retirement age in almost the same duration and I’m freaking out. No one ever warned me that the later years in one’s life goes faster. Will the next ten years go faster than the previous ten ?
Another thing. What is 15 minutes ? When I was in elementary school, us boys would rush out for recess, establish teams and play softball. Now, 15 minutes is hardly sufficient for any activity especially coffee break.
I just want to warn you young guys. Time is running out faster than you think.
I read an article about a guy who did everything the longest, slowest way possible so his later years would slow down. He’d pick the longest line at the grocery store. He’d perform tasks the slowest, most laborious way he could. He’d walk instead of drive. All to make his preception of time stretch out. Time flies by these days…
God yes it goes. The last year for me doesn’t even seem to have happened. It’s fucking bizarre. One minute it was October 2005, the next it was October 2006. What was that?
Pet theory 1: you perceive short time (hours, minutes) differently to long time (weeks, months, years). The perception of short time does change slowly - hence the 15 minutes shrinking effect - but not as much as in Pet theory 2: which states that perception of long time is as a proportion of life already lived. The older you are, the shorter a year is. When you’re five, a year is 20% of your life and is a seemingly endless proposition. When you’re 40, it’s 2.5% and just scoots on by.