Is there anybody that feels like lifes goes by faster in the small towns and slower in the big cities? (how much, college)
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So we always hear people talk about how life slows down when moved out of a big city, as if they’re adding years to their life. Well I’m curious if there’s anyone out there who experiences the opposite.
Yeah, and there's a good scientific reason for it. Our brains perceive time not by the actual amount of time elapsed, but by the amount of distinct, novel, memorable events that occur. There will tend to be more of those in an urban area with a lot going on and a lot of things to see and do.
When I went to college in a small Ohio town, after the first couple years while I was still getting used to the ins and outs of higher education, I was amazed how fast time went, since I'd pretty much been to all the restaurants, parks, and shops already and explored down every street. That was a definite contributing factor in telling me that I don't want to live in small towns.
When you are busy and doing lots of things in a certain time period, your perception of time is different than when you are sitting in your living room watching TV all day. And it has to do with how much your brain is having different experiences.
We notice that when we are moving around a lot between summer/winter places, lots of holidays in a particular year, etc., that year seems to be ten times as long as one in which we are stuck in one place, maybe being ill or having nothing to do.
No, life for me has gone by much faster in Chicago as far as memories. Maybe it would have seemed to go by faster back in Iowa because things were much more static from day to day.
When you are busy and doing lots of things in a certain time period, your perception of time is different than when you are sitting in your living room watching TV all day. And it has to do with how much your brain is having different experiences.
Thanks for explaining it that way. Completely makes sense. But by that logic, someone who is 500 years old would have a verrrryyy fast perception of time. By 70 years old you must already be “bored” with life lacking new experiences, therefore time would feel slower rather than faster?
Yeah, and there's a good scientific reason for it. Our brains perceive time not by the actual amount of time elapsed, but by the amount of distinct, novel, memorable events that occur. There will tend to be more of those in an urban area with a lot going on and a lot of things to see and do.
I can relate to this. I moved back to my hometown which is a small city in 2012 and my life since then has pretty much been one mundane blur. Prior to that when I was living in a big city, life seemed much fuller and more fulfilling. It's scary, but I am stuck here for now.
No, life for me has gone by much faster in Chicago as far as memories. Maybe it would have seemed to go by faster back in Iowa because things were much more static from day to day.
As experiencing it, it would seem to go by slower in a small town. However, looking back, your life in Chicago is much more "full" so to speak than it would be if you were in a small town. In a small town, everything is a blur because every day is exactly the same, day after day, year after year, and there isn't much new to see or do.
My biggest regret was moving back to my hometown in 2012 and allowing myself to be trapped here.
Thanks for explaining it that way. Completely makes sense. But by that logic, someone who is 500 years old would have a verrrryyy fast perception of time. By 70 years old you must already be “bored” with life lacking new experiences, therefore time would feel slower rather than faster?
No.
There are two different "perspectives" of time.
First is novel experiences. Second is time as a percentage of your life
The first has been explained.
The second is that a year seems to go by faster as you age. Why? Because when you are 5 years old, a year is an entire 20% of your life. When you are 50 years old, a year is 1/50th of that, or 2% of your life.
That 5th year of your existence feels very long if (A) it's boring and (B) it constitutes a huge chunk of your life. So a boring summer vacation felt like forever!!
But a year of travelling the world in your 60s goes by really quickly. Why? (A) It's novel experiences AND (B) it constitutes a small portion of your life, so it feels as if it were only a small portion of the sum of your experiences.
So a 500 year old person has two conflicting things: (1) if he's done everything he will feel bored (which makes time seem slower) but (2) he's already live 499 years, so that 500th year will feel like a small speck of time in his life. A 'blink' and you'll miss it moment.
This shows how you can explain anything in any way you want by manipulating numbers. The above post makes arithmetical sense but doesn't make sense in this particular situation.
A 70 year old can have just as many new experiences as a 5 year old (provided his energy level will hold out) and therefore his year can seem just as exciting and interesting - and long. I maintain it's the novel-ness of the day that makes it seem long, as opposed to sitting and watching TV all day long, in which case we're all saying, "Is it lunchtime already? Where did the morning go?"
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