> Why do you think that time seems to speed up as we get older?
My theory: because each unit of time is a smaller relative percentage of our existence to date.
For example, to a 5-yr-old, one year is 20% of their lifespan, and seems to last a loong time. But to a 50-yr-old, one year is only 2% of their lifespan, and flies by.
This is everyone-and-their-pet-dog's theory, and it makes no sense. Why would the amount of time passed have any effect on the brain's time keeping mechanism?
It's probably because the brain gets worse at encoding memories as it ages, so fewer memories/unit time = faster time perception. Also, older people have slower cognitive tempo than younger people.
My theory: because each unit of time is a smaller relative percentage of our existence to date.
For example, to a 5-yr-old, one year is 20% of their lifespan, and seems to last a loong time. But to a 50-yr-old, one year is only 2% of their lifespan, and flies by.