Saturday, August 25, 2012

Does New Information Slow Down Your Life?

I was perusing Irish Times early this morning and I ran across an astounding article by William Reville on how time is measured by memory. I concur with the premise experientially and almost entirely cognitively. Reville makes his point rather convincingly.

In the end he concludes:

"Finally, here is a “guaranteed” way to lengthen your life. Childhood holidays seem to last forever, but as you grow older time seems to accelerate. “Time” is related to how much information you are taking in – information stretches time. A child’s day from 9am to 3.30pm is like a 20-hour day for an adult. Children experience many new things every day and time passes slowly, but as people get older they have fewer new experiences and time is less stretched by information. So, you can “lengthen” your life by minimising routine and making sure your life is full of new active experiences – travel to new places, take on new interests, and spend more time living in the preset."

Definitely give this piece a read. You can find it here.