Much of my time recently has been devoted to listening to TED talks online. TED (Techonology, Entertainment, Design) is a nonprofit devoted to "ideas worth spreading". You can find over 1500 talks online about sooo many topics that are extremely interesting and informative.
Last week I listened to a TED talk about time perception. Why does time sometimes go by fast and other times go by very slowly?
To summarize, scientists believe we perceive time more slowly when we are doing new, unusual, or dynamic things. The theory is that our perception of time slows when our brain is recording new memories and data. That is why a year in our childhood seemed to last forever whereas a year in adulthood goes by really fast. To a child, just about everything is a new experience. As adults, many of our experiences are repeats, things we've done many times before.
This all made sense to me initially, but now I think theory has a flaw.
After listening to this talk on time perception, I took a trip to Rochester to pick up my daughter, Annie, for a weekend at home for her birthday. On my way there, I was alone. I sang to songs on the radio, ate snacks, stopped multiple times for bathroom breaks. The 5 hour trip seemed like 10 hours! The monotany of that long, straight, flat road through New York state can put anyone to sleep!
On the way home, however, my daughter was with me. We started talking as we pulled onto the highway. We hadn't talked much in 3 weeks and it seemed like a lot had happened. We went from one topic to another, talking about the present, past and future. It was quite entertaining!
Time passed so fast! (This is in opposition to the theory that new things made time pass more slowly!)
I even said to Annie how fast the trip goes by when you have someone to talk to!
And she replied that we hadn't even stopped to go to the bathroom!
This made me realize something else. WE HADN'T STOPPED FOR GAS EITHER!
I quickly noticed the gas warning light was on, but how long had it been on for?
Luckily (I think), our car provides us with information on gas mileage and the distance to empty.
I looked at the dashboard and saw the distance until empty was 10 miles.
Then I looked below and saw the distance to the next rest area was 9.9 miles.
Shit!
I tried to conserve gas by coasting on downhills and kept driving, hoping the gas information was wrong.
Even though we were a little nervous, I have to admit living on the edge was exciting!
We cheered when the display showed
the distance to empty was 9 miles and the rest area was only 7.7 miles.
When the gap widened to 3.1 miles, I began to feel the odds were in our favor!
Finally, the sign for the rest area affirmed that it was only a mile away.
Even if we did run out of gas now, we could easily walk a gallon
of gas back to the car.
We were never so happy to see a gas station!
As I was filling the gas tank, my adrenaline was pumping too.
This little adventure really made our trip home so much fun!
It's something we didn't plan
and it's something we'll never forget!
And hopefully never repeat!
But I have to dispute the time perception theory.
My perception of time slowed with a boring, monotonous drive
and sped up tremendously with a dynamic conversation with my daughter.
