Understanding the Distortion of Time During Crisis Moments
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The Nature of Time Perception
In recent times, many individuals have reported feeling as if time is behaving unusually. You're not alone if you sense that the past few months have felt distorted.
Throughout our family dinners, we often lift our glasses—usually filled with wine—and humorously toast to what we believe is day 9,847 of our quarantine. Or perhaps it’s 1,855. Maybe even 631,981. Based on the humorous memes circulating online, it seems that many of us have lost track of the days.
From amusing references to living a real-life Groundhog Day to jokes about how March felt endless while April zipped by in an instant, it appears that the quarantine experience has altered our perception of time. This curious expansion and contraction of our days may feel peculiar, but it aligns with scientific predictions about such crises.
Section 1.1 The Elongation of Childhood Summers
To grasp why this is happening, let's reflect on our usual experience of time. Even in the absence of a pandemic, the steady ticking of the clock often doesn’t correspond with our personal sense of time. Those long childhood summers seemed to stretch on for ages, while for those of us who are older, time seems to accelerate.
This acceleration has a straightforward explanation rooted in science. When we encounter new and unforeseen experiences, we create more memories. The greater the number of memories associated with a period, the longer that time seems to last. This explains why our formative years, rich with novel experiences, feel expansive, while five years in mid-life can feel like just one monotonous day.
For a five-year-old, Tuesday might brim with memorable events (or during a vacation). However, for a 45-year-old, it often blends into just another day at work and is quickly forgotten.
Subsection 1.1.1 The Impact of Quarantine on Time Perception
Now, when applying this reasoning to the quarantine experience, it’s clear why social media is flooded with jokes about an interminable March and a fleeting April. Initially, every day of the pandemic brought new and shocking events, leading to an experience akin to our childhoods—where days felt endless and weeks dragged on.
However, as time progressed, many adapted to the new norm of being homebound. We became familiar with epidemiological terms, honed our Zoom skills, and our formal clothing faded under piles of pajamas and sweatpants. Gradually, our days fell into a predictable rhythm.
Section 1.2 The Return to Routine and Its Effects
In essence, we returned to a routine, which typically accelerates our perception of time. But this new routine often lacked the novelty that once defined our days. Consequently, April became a perfect storm of factors that caused time to fly by.
So, if you, as a business owner, feel that your calendar is playing tricks on you and weeks seem to stretch and compress like reflections in a funhouse mirror, rest assured you’re not losing your mind. This oddity in time perception is a natural reaction to the unusual circumstances we are navigating. That's one less worry on your mind.
Chapter 2 Exploring the Nature of Time in 2020
The first video titled "Why Does Time in 2020 Feel So Weird?" delves into the peculiar sensations of time during the pandemic and offers insights into the psychological impacts of these experiences.
The second video, "Why Life Seems to Speed Up as We Age," explores how our perception of time changes as we grow older and the science behind these shifts.