I suspect it has something to do with memory formation and amount of brain activity, and I suspect just as much that no one really knows. But the subject really says it all - why does time seem to flow faster when you’re interested in something?
A psycologist will be along to answer. However the expression “Time sure does fly when you’re having fun.” is usually a sarcastic comment. It’s used when you are engaged in something that is definitely not fun.
For example, you are alongside the road on a hot day changing a tire. That’s the kind of time to say, “Time sure does …”
If I’m in a situation where I’m bored, uncomfortable, nervous, or just plain not enjoying myself, I’m constantly checking my watch. This constant clock watching makes it seem like time ain’t moving very fast, simply because I can’t wait to get out of there. And so to answer your question about a cliche, I will use another cliche: A watched pot never boils.
On the other hand, if I’m having a good time, I’m not constantly checking the clock, and so I’m not as aware of time passing.
I’ve actually heard this phrase used in non-sarcastic situations more often than in sarcastic ones.
Something to do with your state of mind. There are times where it has been very busy at work and time just flies. Other times the workload has been slow and time crawls. Other times it’s been just as busy and time crawls, and others when the workload is slow, but time flies.
I remember after graduating high school, the next day I was working a 12 hour shift. I remember being in aw about leaving high school and never going back. It was a slow day too. I swear to Og it felt like a 2 hour day. Not sure what was up with that, I mean it really flew! I must have been thinking about the moment so intensely that my time perception went crazy.
For the opposite reason that a “watched pot never boils”.
Agreed. It’s the difference between being immersed in something and stepping back and watching the situation as an outsider being aware of each passing moment.
And the history of the phrase is non-sarcastic. I’d bet the sarcastic uses have increased only in the past few decades as society has changed.
Now, where have I read that before?
Well, I understand that it happens. I know that a watched pot never boils and all that, and I have experienced it just as much. My question is why, neurologically speaking, it happens, or how. Lendervedder has come the closest to answering my question, but I still don’t know why time seems to move slower when I’m constantly checking my watch.
My best guess is still that it has to do with memory formation, since our perception of time is a product of the chronological arrangement of memories. If I had 100 memories in an hour of boredom and only 10 in an hour of fun, then the fun hour would seem 1/10 of the length, like a reel of film which showed only one out of every ten frames.
But then the question is, why does memory store fewer “frames” when I’m interested in something? Shouldn’t interesting things seem to last longer and have time slow down?
To expand on what I said, I think the difference is in perceptual cues. When you are focused on one particular situation you don’t notice the cues that tell you that time is passing. Those may be as obvious as a clock or more subtle ones of fatigue or the behavior of others or clouds passing. We use the cues of our environment to give us information. When we block those out by concentrating on an activity, we lack a reference frame. We don’t notice time, or that we’re getting tired, or that other events are happening that we might be interested in.
When we’re bored, those are all we notice and what we use to gauge the situation.
I don’t think memory plays any major part in it the way you say. Ballplayers can remember every pitch thrown during a game and can recount them years later, yet the games don’t seem stretched out to them. Musicians notice concerts the same way. Both do it by blocking out anything other than the game or the music, i.e. reducing the cues that would intrude on the focus.
I’m reminded of the guy in Heller’s Catch-22, Dunbar, I think. He explained to Yossarian that as time flew when you were having fun, and dragged when you were bored or had nothing to do, it followed that to make one’s life seem as long as possible, it was necessary to remain in a constant state of boredom and inactivity.
He put this into practice and figured that by doing so he would lead a much, much longer life, at least subjectively, than those who sought out stimulation and fun.
I often think of Dunbar when I’m bored, and tell myself that at least I’m making my life a little longer!
It all has to do with relativity.
“When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours that’s relativity.” – Albert Einstein
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has some interesting theories.