Why is Time is Not Always the Same

Time is measured so differently day to day and people to people and yet time is supposedly a constant. This post has to to do with time and how it relates to our perception of time. This post has to do with vacations, weekends or just any other time where we would like time to slow down. I have a theory and I have tested it on numerous occasions and found it to be very much reliable. I equate time the same way you would equate distance without the ability to measure it. Just as the eyes need something to judge distance, the brain needs a way to judge the passing of time.

I will first start with how the distance thing works in a painting. In a painting, you have to show distance when there is no cues that we normally see in our 3d world. If you see a great vista your mind already knows that there is distance and fills in much of the gaps where your perception fails. If you ever photographed something that looks fantastic when you saw it and after you photographed it everything is flat and bland, the camera is half the problem as it attempts to make everything a gray flat image, the photographer must adjust color and saturation and lighting to show the depth of field with the help of cues in the photograph and sharp versus soft focus, all of these work together to capture the distance and awe of a scene with lots of distance. A painter has no options to explain a 2D image into a 3D illusion, this is also done with changes in contrast, size, perspective and value. This is how we create the illusion of distance.

So what does distance have to do with time? I believe time is measured by the brain in the same way distance is measured by the eye. If the brain has a small amount of options to compare it has no concept of the distance of time. If you do a large amount of different things in a given period of time, the brain has cues to measure the distance of time and is better able to capture the full feeling of time passing. After this process the measurement of time is still perceived and so each person can still feel a different perception of time  by the way each perceive it.

On vacations, I tend to plan many mall events in a given time, this allows for time to seem like it goes on forever. By the end of the day it seems like the day was really long. Try this technique and comment whether it changes your feeling or perception of time and see if you can lengthen your day or maybe even your life.