It seems like just yesterday that we were welcoming in the new year but yet here we are already halfway through this crazy (and I’m sure we could all agree that it has been pretty crazy) year. Sometimes it really does feel like time flies and I remember as child it always seemed to feel that it went by so slowly; a year felt like a lifetime! This is because as children we are constantly experiencing new things and taking in new information on a daily basis. Yet as we get older time seems to go by much faster, but time itself hasn’t actually gone faster or slower it is just our perception of time that has changed.
As children we are constantly absorbing new information and experiencing new things
So as I was wondering about how as humans our perceptions of time may differ and it got me thinking about animals and what time might feel like to them.
Now, you may wonder how we could possibly get into to minds of animals and figure out how they see the world around them, but there are some incredibly clever people out there that can measure how an animal can perceive time by measuring brain function and how quickly they are able to process sensory information. To do this they use Critical Flicker Fusion, which is the frequency at which a flickering light is perceived as continuous light. A study led by scientists from Trinity College Dublin has shown that this frequency varies from animal to animal and is linked to their body size and pace of life.
They discovered that smaller animals such as the Tree Squirrel are able to process information at a much quicker rate because their brain functions at a higher frequency, which means that they are likely to see the world around them at a much slower rate. (To us humans this would be like watching a movie in slow motion). This allows them to be able to react faster in times of danger.
Larger animals like an elephant though process sensory information at a much slower rate, so their brain frequency will be lower resulting in time moving at a faster rate.
This also may explain why it can be so incredibly difficult to swat a fly. Although a diminutive insect, the same concept would apply to the fly. With being so small its brain will work at a higher frequency as it has to be able to process information very quickly so as to be able to make quicker decisions and react quickly in order to not be eaten or squished by the fly swatter. They are most likely seeing the swatter coming at them in slow motion which allows them to make a quick escape and carry on annoying us by buzzing around our heads.
Maybe the more information we all try to take in, the slower time might seem to go. Now how do we just speed up 2020 so we can be done with it?
Lovely article, but the thought of welcoming in 2020 does seem to be somewhat on the unintelligent side…
Tayla, what a wonderful blog – I never knew about the animals
Imteresting blog Tayla. As we get older we do slow down, and it is a good thing. Life is good right now, although we can’t wait for lockdown to end so that we can travel again. We do hope that it is soon, before the end if 2020.
Perhaps I should be more like an elephant, processing information more slowly so that time will “move faster”, so we can all get back to more normalcy.
Ah yes, speeding up 2020. That’s a great conclusion! – as long as we fix it before it goes!
What’s that quote ” The days go slow and the years go fast” – so true! The only way to appreciate it all is to try and stay mindful.
Quite an interesting piece, Tayla. I had no knowledge of this Critical Flicker Fusion thingamajig. It’s quite enlightening, so to speak. But, I don’t feel the same way you do about 2020. Here in the States we are finally confronting our apartheid and most people are being honest about it, except our president. But, he’s nuts and he came to power on the undisclosed and unrevealed system which is now being addressed. So, may years like 2020, live on and maybe we can react more quickly to the pains and humiliations that others are feeling in the world and correct them more quickly. Maybe we can each take a step back from our own importance and become smaller in the scheme of things, so we can improve human’s CFF toward each other, and the animals and plants on the planet, as well. In so doing, maybe we can make the changes necessary to arrest climate change. We really need to do that more quickly, too. It’s so sad to see we humans may have lower levels of brain frequency than even that of the blue whale. It takes us so, so, so, so long to respond and make changes that I’m afraid we would never get away from the fly swatter or the whaler – so we became them. Well, in the interest of Time, I will stop here.
hahahahahahaha, I absolutely do feel the same. Let’s have 2020 over and done with……..
Thanks for the blog!
Very interesting article Tayla. Now I know why I always swing and miss those pesky flies!
Yeah, I’ve always wondered how a hummingbird can come zipping in at top speed to a feeder and land perfectly on the perch without crashing into it.
Hi Tayla,
That’s an interesting and thought-provoking story.
I also read somewhere that the perception of time for adults vs. kids is different because 1 year for example is 10% of a lifetime for a 10y old, but only 2% for a 50y old; different perspective…
Thank you again
What a refreshing blog to wake up to this morning! I especially love the picture of the children in the sunrise wearing angel wings. It transcends heart warming thoughts and feelings. – Thank you.
Utterly fascinating! An addendum to this research is that in the case of humans in fast paced, seemingly chaotic environments, exceptional performance is directly related to practicing and training the brain/body to react and respond to any number of variables so as to make the environment seem to “slow down” and give far greater chance of success. This is true in sports, improvised music and any number of other environments. Boyd talks about this in terms of tracking and preparation so that when one finds one in a chaotic and dangerous situation, he/she/they already know how to act effectively!
Speed up 2020? Why? We all complain about how our days are flying and we’d like to slow them down if we can’t stop them. Well, it’s the perfect opportunity!
2020 is the perfect opportunity to steal time for yourself. Look at the world with other eyes. Get out of your frame and get deeper into yourself
Tayla thank you for this interesting blog and always good to learn something new. It would certainly be good to speed up 2020 but maybe wishful thinking!
What a lovely and interesting piece. I am a bit of a mystic, and mysticism teaches that both time and space are much more malleable than we often think. Science and mysticism are joining forces on this, of late….
So does vibration frequency correspond with time perception? Do they also have a relationship with life expectancy?