Small Calamities

Your Calamities

You'll Have Time
August 3, 2007 | permalink

The other day was my one year anniversary at my full time job. I can't believe how fast it went by. I can't believe how fast time seems to be going by as I get older, period.

In fact, I think the sensation that the passage of time is accelerating is the thing I most notice as I get older. Not that I'm saying I am an old man, mind you; but there are definitely some changes. My eyesight is not quite as good as it was when I was twenty, for example. I have some grey hair. I ache more than I used to the morning after a hard day's work. None of that makes me feel old, though. I still feel strong as an ox (or a bear, if you like) and in the prime of health and heartiness and virility. Hell, I even like the grey hair. It's dignified. But the way time seems to go by... that makes me feel old. My sense of time kind of sucks anyway, which I am sure isn't helping; it just seems to go by so much faster thank it used to. It's a little disconcerting, at times.

I am sure you will be surprised, Gentle Readers, to hear that I have some theories on this phenomenon. Well, maybe not. Be that as it may, everyone I have mentioned this to say that they have the same sensation of time speeding up as they age, so I feel secure in laying out my theory and making broad statements about how everyone's brains work. It might all be crap, of course, but it makes sense to me.

I think there are two things happening, both of which contribute to the sensation of time accelerating. The first is that as you get older, each successive year is a smaller fraction of your life experience than the one before, and so each one gets less and less real estate in your memory. The summer you were five was 5% of your life up to that point; when you get to be 30, those same three months are 0.8% of your life. And the numbers only get smaller from there...

Additionally, I think that new experiences make much more of an impact on your memory than something that has become normal or routine. I'm sure all of you can remember every detail of your first kiss. What can you remember about a kiss you had last month? I also think that we use the things that stick out in our memories as milestones. As you live your life, an ever smaller proportion of the things that you do are new experiences; they simply have less impact. There are fewer things to break up the monotony, so to speak, and as a result time seems to go by faster than it used to.

Anyway, that's my take. Like I said, it might be crap, but it makes sense to me.