Book Summary: Felt Time
Marc Wittmann’s Felt Time looks at how our brains process time. He examines the facts and theories surrounding our ability to perceive time and about how we can make the most of the time we have.
Related Book Summaries to Felt Time:
Designing Your Life – Bill Burnett
Get Some Headspace – Andy Puddicombe
The Power Of Less – Leo Babauta
Felt Time Book Summary Main Themes:
Your Physiological And Psychological Clocks
Prior to the invention of clocks, the prevailing theory is that we humans have mechanisms within our brains that track time. It registers many more intervals of time when we stop to pay attention it. This explains why when we are waiting for time to pass it seems to go much slower because our internal mechanism is registering much more frequent intervals.
We also have a physiological clock in the form of our circadian rhythm. This allows us to register time through the intake of light. It’s also responsible for the times when many of our bodies hormones are released.
Delayed Satisfaction
Among all the different animals on earth, humans appear to have the best ability to delay our own satisfaction. Animals such as chickens, the author points out, can only delay a few seconds. The great apes score much better, being able to delay for several minutes.
This ability is important because we make choices everyday that involve possible greater rewards, if only we have the ability to wait a while longer. A great example of this is the stock market, by investing today’s dollars instead of spending them we have the ability to get our money back many times larger than what we initially contributed in the future.
Three Seconds
Researchers believe that our memory is made of a series of three second intervals that our brain strings together in our short term memory.
It’s also suggested that this is why some songs can be more pleasing to people if they easily clump into three second sections. This makes it more agreeable to our short term memory.
Book Summary Notes:
- Long term memory is essential for our sense of self.
- The quicker a passage of time feels the longer we think it lasted looking back.
- Once we settle into routines, time appears to move more quickly.
- Medical studies have shown that mindfulness meditation can help to increase pain tolerance, reduce stress and help to keep your brain younger.
