Time, the perception of
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Life on Earth is largely governed by an abstract concept known as time.Time is measured in increments as follows......60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 4 weeks in a month, 12 months in a year.Time can be measured in far larger or smaller increments(nanoseconds, parsecs, eons etc.)but these are not necessary for everyday use.
Time is the backbone of the entire structure of human life and all aspects of life are governed by what time it is.
What is most interesting about time on Earth is how it's passing is directly affected by an individuals perception of it.If the activity you are engaged in is fun or pleasurable then hours will seem to pass like minutes, while standing in line at the post office or watching the Eurovision Song Contest can make the passing of a minute more like the passing of several hours.The expression "I'll just be five minutes!" very rarely refers to five actual minutes.It can mean anything from five minutes up to one hundred and twenty minutes.(Even more in extreme cases where video games or the consumption of beer are involved.)"I've been waiting for hours!" more often than not translates as:"I've been waiting several minutes".
The oddest human perception of time is that we view it as if it were an actual reality and not just a human invention.This has gotten out of hand in some circles where theorists and scientists have started to think of time as a realm or dimension that can be charted and moved through in different directions, which it isn't.We tend to measure time in years from the year zero, which was not actually the first year on Earth(millions of years precede it)but was the first year formally recognised under the belief system of a religion known as Christianity.
A fundamental part of the human experience is that time itself is not as important as our perception of it.
Time is the backbone of the entire structure of human life and all aspects of life are governed by what time it is.
What is most interesting about time on Earth is how it's passing is directly affected by an individuals perception of it.If the activity you are engaged in is fun or pleasurable then hours will seem to pass like minutes, while standing in line at the post office or watching the Eurovision Song Contest can make the passing of a minute more like the passing of several hours.The expression "I'll just be five minutes!" very rarely refers to five actual minutes.It can mean anything from five minutes up to one hundred and twenty minutes.(Even more in extreme cases where video games or the consumption of beer are involved.)"I've been waiting for hours!" more often than not translates as:"I've been waiting several minutes".
The oddest human perception of time is that we view it as if it were an actual reality and not just a human invention.This has gotten out of hand in some circles where theorists and scientists have started to think of time as a realm or dimension that can be charted and moved through in different directions, which it isn't.We tend to measure time in years from the year zero, which was not actually the first year on Earth(millions of years precede it)but was the first year formally recognised under the belief system of a religion known as Christianity.
A fundamental part of the human experience is that time itself is not as important as our perception of it.
