# Poll: time perception **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 12, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222 "2009-08-12T21:01:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/61 "2009-08-14T00:56:46Z")
Wow, you _are_ angry. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/62 "2009-08-14T01:01:46Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > I’m still not clear on how “forward” can be interpreted to mean “later.” > > In time, as we know it, you can only go forward, correct? Granted - but we are not talking about time itself moving forward or backward, we are talking about the meeting moving forward or backward (because of somebody rescheduling it) from its previously set date. When it moves, it doesn’t really move through time as we do, because the meeting hasn’t happened yet. It’s not a thing that can move forward (as we do) or backward through time. It’s also not sentient and therefore can’t experience the passage of time itself. Only the point at which we intersect the meeting can move. So when us Monday people hear that the meeting has been moved forward, we are seeing the meeting moved closer/nearer to us (it happens sooner in time). “Pushed back” would mean the meeting is moved further away from us (it happens later in time). Slightly different approach: Let’s say nobody reschedules the meeting at all. As you move through the week and time passes you by, don’t you see the meeting moving forward (approaching) you at a natural rate of 1 day per day? ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/63 "2009-08-14T01:19:16Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > Granted - but we are not talking about time itself moving forward or backward Yeah, I know that. > [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > , we are talking about the meeting moving forward or backward (because of somebody rescheduling it) from its previously set date. Did you seriously need to explain that? > [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > When it moves, it doesn’t really move through time as we do, because the meeting hasn’t happened yet. It’s not a thing that can move forward (as we do) or backward through time. It’s also not sentient and therefore can’t experience the passage of time itself. > > Only the point at which we intersect the meeting can move. So when us Monday people hear that the meeting has been moved forward, we are seeing the meeting moved closer/nearer to us (it happens sooner in time). “Pushed back” would mean the meeting is moved further away from us (it happens later in time). > > Slightly different approach: Let’s say nobody reschedules the meeting at all. As you move through the week and time passes you by, don’t you see the meeting moving forward (approaching) you at a natural rate of 1 day per day? This is nonsensical. I’m aware it’s a reschedule of a meeting. If canceled on Wednesday, and moved forward 2 days, the meeting is on Friday. If this intellectual play on words, I can see your reasoning (actually that’s a lie, I cannot fathom what you or related people mean at all in this thread), but seriously… 2 days ahead, forward, later… to most people, mean the meeting is on Friday if was canceled on Wednesday. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/64 "2009-08-14T01:20:46Z")
I think of it like a calendar. Forward two days on the calendar is Friday. I so poorly grasped the concept of the meeting being Monday, that I couldn’t even understand the OP until I had read several responses. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/65 "2009-08-14T01:24:47Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > Did you seriously need to explain that? The answer should be self-evident. I wouldn’t have explained it if I hadn’t felt the need to do so. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/66 "2009-08-14T01:29:25Z")
And this really isn’t a time perception issue, it’s a word comprehension issue. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/67 "2009-08-14T01:29:31Z")
Is anyone keeping track of the poll results? I’m curious, but not enough to do it myself 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/68 "2009-08-14T01:32:17Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > The answer should be self-evident. I wouldn’t have explained it if I hadn’t felt the need to do so. But, you cannot have the meeting on a Monday before the Wednesday cancellation. And if you think about it, you’re just playing with the meaning of the words, any 2 days after any Wednesday _is_ Friday, every single time. ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/69 "2009-08-14T01:36:36Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I think of it like a calendar. Forward two days on the calendar is Friday. I so poorly grasped the concept of the meeting being Monday, that I couldn’t even understand the OP until I had read several responses. Exactly. I’ve tried to think of how I would word this myself and all I can come up with is that when I move a meeting/training/whatever I say “The Wednesday, August 25 meeting has been cancelled. We will be meeting Monday, August 23 instead.” Because I’m frequently a detail freak like that. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/70 "2009-08-14T01:38:34Z")
Thanks, **Patty O’Furniture**! I was just about to post the exact \*opposite \*of your post, using basically the same wording. Now all I have to do is rebut! > [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > Granted - but we are not talking about time itself moving forward or backward, Exactly, because “time” doesn’t move - we move through it. > [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > we are talking about the meeting moving forward or backward (because of somebody rescheduling it) from its previously set date. Yep - we’re talking about moving it forward or backward through time. > [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > When it moves, it doesn’t really move through time as we do, because the meeting hasn’t happened yet. Yes, it does. As long as it hasn’t happened yet, it can move around through the future. > [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > It’s not a thing that can move forward (as we do) or backward through time. Yes, that’s exactly what it is. It’s an event on a timeline, as \*\*Mean Old Lady \*\*said. The timeline is static, and events are placed at various points along it, and as we move along it, we encounter them. > [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > “Pushed back” would mean the meeting is moved further away from us (it happens later in time). Well… I can interpret “back” two ways: “Back” as opposed to “forward” means “in time”. “Back” as opposed to “up” means “in the queue of events stretching away from me into the future”. > [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > Slightly different approach: Let’s say nobody reschedules the meeting at all. As you move through the week and time passes you by, don’t you see the meeting moving forward (approaching) you at a natural rate of 1 day per day? Precisely bass-ackwards. The meeting is sitting out there ahead of me, like a pit stop on the Road of Time. I get a day closer to it each day. So that would make me a “Friday” person. I can be angry, I guess, but not about this; I find it hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/71 "2009-08-14T01:47:33Z")
> [@](#): > > But, you cannot have the meeting on a Monday before the Wednesday cancellation. Not sure if I get your point here, but why can’t I? Say I have a meeting for the 19th, next Wednesday. I can cancel it and move it two days forward (sooner/closer to me/whatever) to Monday the 17th. Reading through the linked article, I see a lot of good examples for Monday-thinking: > [@](#): > > In the business world, I hear phrases like “We’ll push the deadline up.” or “We can move the goal forward a few days” to signify something happening sooner. > > I hear things like “we’ll go ahead and move the deadline back a couple of weeks” and that signifies that it is going to take more time and not less. So given that “pushed back” means delayed or postponed, wouldn’t “moved forward” be the opposite of pushed back? Or are we not even in agreement that pushed back means postponed? That’s it. I give up and defer to the usage panel. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/72 "2009-08-14T02:08:34Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I agree. There have been a few threads roughly similar to this over the years and it blows my mind. It is psychotic to answer Monday to be kind about it. Apparently, lots of Dopers and their family and friends have time machines in which case I want in on the action but otherwise it it simply batshit insanity. Do the people here have ever had an a job and needed to be at a certain place at a certain time? The rest is just bizarre intellectual masturbation and I would fire someone if they insisted on this premise. We’re insane because we choose the correct interpretation? You know, how it’s **actually** used in real life. Here’s google for “[moved forward](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22moved+forward%22&aq=f&oq=&aqi=).” Find a link that shows that the use is for something occuring later, instead of earlier. Don’t bother with the first ten hits, because they’re used thusly: > [@](#): > > Capcom has confirmed that the Japanese release of Resident Evil 5 has been moved forward a week. > > Instead of its original March 12, 2009 release, the game now hits Japanese retailers March 5, 2009. > [@](#): > > Execution date moved forward for Iranian young offender > > Iran has the second-highest rate of executions in the world > Bahman Salimian, who was convicted for murder at age 15 and is now 27, may be executed as early as February 4, his lawyer told Radio Farda. > > The execution had previously been scheduled for February 9. > [@](#): > > THQ today sent word that the UK release of Red Faction: Guerrilla has been moved forward. Originally due for release on June 12th, the action on Mars will now hit the shelves on June 5th. > [@](#): > > Star Ocean 4 Release Date Moved Forward > In an unusual move, the release date for tri-Ace’s Star Ocean: The Last Hope has been moved forward, and will now hit North America on February 24 instead of March 3. > [@](#): > > World Cup hockey moved forward to avert IPL clash > > NEW DELHI (AP) The 2010 men’s field hockey World Cup has been moved forward a week, avoiding a clash with the Indian Premier League cricket. The International Field Hockey Federation (FIH) on Friday changed the dates to Feb. 28-March 13. The IPL is scheduled from March 12-April 25. > > “The reason the FIH moved the World Cup one week is to get an even better worldwide promotion of FIH’s showcase event,” > [@](#): > > Why were the Oscars moved forward? > > The race is on for 2004’s Oscars and this year its participants have to be ready for the starting gun a month early. > > There was controversy over the campaigning for Gangs of New York > The powers-that-be at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences decided last year to move the glitzy awards ceremony forward from its usual date in late March to 29 February. > [@](#): > > Capcom have just announced that their upcoming Brawler, Spyborgs has had its release date shifted. The game was initially planned to be released on the 29th of September, 2009 in North America, but that has now changed. > > Spyborgs is a game by Bionic Games that sees players controlling a member of a team of cyborg secret agents, each with their own unique abilities. The game is designed to be played co-operatively with two players, though the AI will take control of the other character in single player games. > > The new release date for Spyborgs is the 22nd of September, 2009, so it has been moved a week forward. It will be coming out on the Nintendo Wii exclusively. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/73 "2009-08-14T03:11:38Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > So given that “pushed back” means delayed or postponed, wouldn’t “moved forward” be the opposite of pushed back? Or are we not even in agreement that pushed back means postponed? Yeah, but ‘pushed back’ is an established phrase that means ‘delayed’. People don’t say ‘pull forward’ the meeting when they mean it will be sooner than planned, so that example doesn’t really mean anything to me. In the business world, they also like to use the term ‘going forward’ which of course always means ‘in the future’. Again, that is a catch phrase that has nothing to do with what we are discussing here, I don’t think. I’m just using it as an example of why established business catch phrases don’t really count in context of this discussion. But, yeah, I didn’t read this thread, because I was busy working when I started posting to it, but I think I skimmed something the Fridayers being angry? What the hell has that to do with the price of tea… I guess I will read the thread and the linked article. ETA: Oh, shit. Just read Elfkin’s post above me, and I’m being swayed to the Mondayers, hard and fast! Let me read the damn thread and article before posting again. I promise! ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/74 "2009-08-14T03:28:25Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > Wow, you _are_ angry. Yep, looks like Shag has a bad case of the 'Fridays". ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/75 "2009-08-14T03:41:13Z")
This thread is starting to mess me up on[some this type shit.](http://www.askix.com/avav/images/optical_illusions/woman.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/76 "2009-08-14T04:24:14Z")
“Moved forward” = Monday. I prefer “brought forward” because I find it less ambiguous. “Moved forward” means “earlier than previously scheduled” because it has been shifted closer to me and I will reach it sooner. Moved back means it has been moved further away from me. Past—\>---\>—\>---\>—\>---\>—\>---\>Me—\>---\>—\>---\>Meeting—\>---\>Future Past—\>---\>—\>---\>—\>---\>—\>---\>Me—\>Meeting—\>---\>—\>---\>—\>Future Of course once the meeting is done, it will be ever further back in the past as I move away from it toward the future. If the Queen is walking South towards a waiting line of subjects and one of them is brought forward to meet her, the subject doesn’t move South to match the direction the Queen is walking. They move North to encounter her sooner. “Brought forward” and “moved forward” mean the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/77 "2009-08-14T13:27:58Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > Wow, you _are_ angry. And it cracks me up. Here’s the best part: > [@Shagnasty](#): > > It is psychotic to answer Monday to be kind about it. To be kind about it! I’d hate to see the guy be mean. But seriously, you Monday people are crazy. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/78 "2009-08-14T13:35:11Z")
Grr! Five minute window, be damned! Anyway, I want to address what \*\*Cazzle \*\*said. I don’t think of time as something that is relative to me. Yes, if someone wants me to inspect something from a mile away, I will tell the person to bring it forward. I am the target, and now whatever he wants me to look at needs to be brought forward (towards me) so I can see it. Here’s time: \<—Past—Monday------Meeting------Friday—Future—\> I have nothing to do with it. There’s no “me” on the timeline. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/79 "2009-08-14T13:40:53Z")
So is this meeting today or not?! ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222/80 "2009-08-14T14:54:14Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > A professional person would get fired if they habitually interpreted things the way the Monday people do. Ahem. I’m a professional person. Part of my job involves scheduling meetings, and not infrequently rescheduling them. \*\*Everyone \*\*else I talk to uses “move foward” in the “move sooner” sense. So it is, in fact, the Fridays who would cause rampant confusion in a professional setting. ETA: And this isn’t some rinky-dink company, either. I’m talking well over 20,000 employees worldwide. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-time-perception/506222.md?page=5)