The pace of change in life

Your perceptions on this...?

Is it just me or do others here find that generally speaking, the rate that the world, society, politics, work and attitudes are changing, is speeding up.

Is it just that I'm getting older, or is it such that in order to perceive the rate of change one needs to have experienced a certain amount of change so one can calibrate?

Originally posted by divegeester
Your perceptions on this...?

Is it just me or do other find that generally speaking the rate that the world, society, politics, work and attitudes are changing, is speeding up.

Is it just that I'm getting older, or is it such that in order to perceive the rate of change one needs to have experienced a certain amount of change so one can calibrate?

Days, weeks, months and years feel shorter the older you get. When I was, say, 10 years old, a year was an inconceivably long amount of time.

Originally posted by divegeester
Your perceptions on this...?

Is it just me or do other find that generally speaking the rate that the world, society, politics, work and attitudes are changing, is speeding up.

Is it just that I'm getting older, or is it such that in order to perceive the rate of change one needs to have experienced a certain amount of change so one can calibrate?

All of the above and the "pace of change" will continue to accelerate as we age.

FMF is talking about perception of the passing of time, GB is talking about actual pace of things changing within that time.

If our perception is that the passing of time is speeding up and the reality is also that the pass of actual change is also speeding up, is it any wonder that when these two phenomena are combined with the dynamic of an ageing mind and body, that elderly have difficulty coping?

Conclusion: I'm getting older and it's going to get worse?

Originally posted by FMF
Days, weeks, months and years feel shorter the older you get. When I was, say, 10 years old, a year was an inconceivably long amount of time.

Forget a year, when i was 10 the 6 weeks summer holiday seemed to last an eternity. 6 weeks now is nothing; just a typical wait for a GP appointment.

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Forget a year, when i was 10 the 6 weeks summer holiday seemed to last an eternity. 6 weeks now is nothing; just a typical wait for a GP appointment.

Yes, this is true too. Even though I'm only 38 (soon 39) (yes, I understand much of RHP is older than this), I've felt this perception change as well. Although our summer vacations when I was 10 were 12 weeks, not 6, and yes, it did seem to last forever.

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I think you're correct here. Studies have shown that time seems to pass more quickly when the number of tasks goes up. Thus when we were young, we had the carefree mind of a child and so we even thought about fewer things. Today, as adults, we worry about everything and we plan for the future. Similarly, we're busy at our jobs, which often require a seemingly endless amount of tasks done every day.

You can test this by boiling water for tea. Given the same temperature of the heat source and the same temperature of the same amount of water to start, it should take nearly identical times to boil. The first time, work on a jigsaw puzzle or a game of solitaire while it heats up. It seems to take almost no time at all, but the second time, just sit and stare at it, and it takes forever. This is the basis for "a watched pot never boils".

Originally posted by divegeester
Your perceptions on this...?

Is it just me or do others here find that generally speaking, the rate that the world, society, politics, work and attitudes are changing, is speeding up.

Is it just that I'm getting older, or is it such that in order to perceive the rate of change one needs to have experienced a certain amount of change so one can calibrate?

Art Bell wrote a book about the perception that everything, not just in our personal lives, but for society at large, is speeding up. He called this phenomenon The Quickening and that's the title of his book. It's an interesting read.

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Yes, only yesterday, I was 29. Time does fly. 🙂

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I reckon so too. 🙂

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There's no way of either women or men knowing whether this is so ~ at least not those who have remained the same gender their whole lives long.

Originally posted by Suzianne
Studies have shown that time seems to pass more quickly when the number of tasks goes up..

This doesn't ring true for me. When I am ultra busy with certain kinds of work, time often seems to pass very slowly. I can find myself deeply absorbed by something starting at 5.30 am and then look at the clock after what feels like ages and ages and see that it's only 9 am. And the day might continue like that. Being busy for me can sometimes slow the passage of time quite considerably.