Chronicles of
Dear Readers,
Do you ever feel like time goes faster the older you get? From personal experience and conversations with other mature adults, I have concluded this is not an isolated phenomenon.
When we were younger, time seemed to drag on forever. Remember those long, lazy days of summer vacation? From the time we got the Sears catalog in September until Christmas actually arrived seemed endless.
This curious phenomenon has nothing to do with any change in the measurement of time, a minute today is the same as it was 50 years ago. According to some scientific theories, this sensation has to do with how our brains process experiences around us, which changes as we age, leading to feelings of rapidity.
In the 1960s, psychologist Robert Ornstein conducted a series of experiments leading up to his work “On the Experience of Time”. He concluded that when we are young, our brains are constantly processing new materials and countless new lessons and sensations requiring our brains to work harder. This overwhelming flood of knowledge may contribute to the feeling of time moving slowly.
As we grow older, however, we often find ourselves falling into a routine with little change. As we age, our perception of time changes due to inevitable changes in our bodies and brains. We are just not able to process things as we did when we were younger.
The concept of the proportional theory suggests that the way we perceive is related to the time we have experienced in relation to the remaining time we have left. Thank goodness none of us knows the answer to that one. It is important to make the best use of the gift of one more day. Sincerely,
Scarlett
Please send your questions to Scarlett at: scarlettodara5@gmail.com or through postal mail to: Scarlett O’Dara, 902 Elizabeth St., Waycross, GA 31503.
