First off, if you read my last post, you know how much I am loving the new library in the economics & social sciences building. It’s so modern, clean, well-lit and quiet, creating an atmosphere that is perfect for studying. If you want to take a peek at what it looks like, last week, I took some pictures with my iPhone and put them on my Tumblr. The pictures are a little blurry at times, but they’ll give you a good idea of what the library looks like. Take a peek into the library here.
I took this picture a couple of weeks ago. Actually, these pictures. I took the photo that the left half of this image was taken from on February 28th, and the photo of the right half a day later. I just thought it was amazing how different Heidelberg looked a day after a storm. Almost like over night, winter ended and spring sprung.* The muddy water looked a lot less muddy and a lot more calm just 24 hours later, and even the trees looked greener.
* Since then it has gotten colder and snowed again, so sadly, winter isn’t quite over yet.
It got me thinking of how it always seems like time just flies by. Now, that I am finally blogging about this, another 10 days have gone past. Time really does fly. It’s March. In just three short weeks, a quarter of this year will be over and I will only have three months of university left.
When I say that time sure seems to be flying by, you have to know that I am the person who used to roll her eyes whenever somebody would say that. I think it is such a cliche thing to say. I mean, come on, time doesn’t fly by. It always goes at exactly the same speed. A second is always one second long. An hour consists of 3,600 seconds. Yet, every time a week is over, a month is over, a year is over, everyone is like, “gosh, I cannot believe that it is [Sunday/March/2010] already! And that time flies? Is something that old people say. Of course that makes me a hypocrite, because I say it too. Maybe that’s because I’m getting old. Kids never seem to think that time flies by.
A while ago, I voiced my annoyance over this habit on Twitter, and San linked me to an article which actually suggests that this phenomenon of time flying by is not something we made up, or say because it’s cool or the thing to say, or because we have been conditioned to by our culture to say it. That it can actually be explained scientifically.
One theory is that, as you get older, you make less new experiences. When you are young, the brain has so much new information to store and analyze for every first experience because it does not know anything yet about this new thing it is experiencing. As you get older, you experience less new things, and your brain is not occupied for as long to analyze and store the experiences it makes. So when you are young, time seems to be moving more slowly compared to when you are an adult.
I thought this was really interesting. I never would have thought that there was an actual scientific basis for this platitude, this cliche feeling. Despite the knowledge that time always goes at the exact same speed, the feeling that time flies by is universal, across cultures, across time. Because of this, there has to be something to it.
You can read more about this theory and others trying to explain this phenomenon here.
Are there any platitudes that bug you? Are you surprised that there is an actual explanation for time flying by? Did you know this already, or did you, like me, never even consider that there might be one?
i have noticed that since i’ve stopped studying, my time seems to go faster and faster. i think it is because of my monotonous routine. i cannot believe it is already march 2010 – it seems like every year after college goes faster. def possible to the fact that i don’t do near as many cool and new and exciting things as i did then.
also, i can’t believe there is snow in germany right now. IT IS MARCH ALREADY!!! gah!
.-= texpat’s last blog post: giving up….. =-.
That’s possible, though I feel the same way. I think it may just be our age. As for the snow? I know! Luckily it has almost all melted here and I really hope we won’t be getting any more. I am so done with winter.
I believe that when you are younger, you have less to worry about. All you do is go to school, see friends, and hang out. But once you are an adult, things start to get busy: there are bills to pay, there is college, jobs, relationships (with a significant other AND friends), there is family, vacations, the works. That’s why I believe time just seems to fly. We have so much more responsibility, so much more to do to fit in a single day.
.-= Stefanie’s last blog post: Maybe it’s just some Wednesday. =-.
Thanks for your comment, Stefanie. You are right about the busier life. I sometimes still feel pretty sheltered from the realities of adult life, but when I think about it, it has gotten much more adult in the past few years.
I never would’ve thought of there being a scientific explanation for it, but that totally makes sense! My dad always tells me whenever I talk about time passing by more quickly these days that “it only gets worse,” haha – I suppose I should just make a note to try more new things! If I did that maybe I would have more of a sense of having filled my time with much more – thus minimising the effect of it having passed by quickly (if it were filled with so much new stuff). Worth an experiment perhaps?
.-= Emily Jane’s last blog post: Progress? =-.
Thanks for your comment, Em! I think that there is a lot of stuff that cannot be new to us anymore (so many ‘mundane’ things you experience for the first time at some point, like the first kiss – that was one example mentioned in the article). But maybe trying new things frequently would keep our brains busier, thus making time seem longer – I wonder if that would work the same way for an adult as for a kid.
I didn’t know it, but it sounds interesting… However, I noticed that generally time seems to pass faster if I have less things to do. I don’t know why, but I think it has to do with the fact, how I fill my days. If it’s really busy and I look back on the day in the evening, I feel like I’ve made the most of the day and that it was a really long day…
I don’t know if this could be scientifically prooved…
.-= Deia’s last blog post: Country Portrait: Australia =-.
Thanks for your comment, Deia. I actually think that when I don’t do anything, the time can go very slowly. Or when you are waiting for something. But you are right, when you have a very productive day in which you accomplish a lot, it can make the day seem longer. Sometimes I am surprised at how quickly time passes by when I’m just wasting it away online or doing other non-productive things.