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Asked by lexie lou adams to Huma, Jack, Lucy, Miranda, Peter on 7 Nov 2016.
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Huma Shah answered on 7 Nov 2016:
Good morning Lexie Adams, Summer days are long and (sometimes in the UK!), warm which makes one want to be active and out enjoying the sunshine, being active makes it appear that the time went by quickly. In the winter when it’s cold, being active outside is less attractive so the days appear longer. Trying to be active, looking for interesting things to do in the winter may help the days pass by more quickly. Okay, that’s my non-scientific answer! Huma 🙂
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Peter Boorman answered on 16 Nov 2016:
Hi Lexie,
Interesting question – I guess the answer is that ‘time flies when you’re having fun’.. This is just the idea that if you’re having fun, you’re less likely to be continuously checking the time, and as a result, time appears to go faster!
Peter
Comments
Darren commented on :
Hey! So I saw this question from Lexie to Huma and I hope it’s ok if I can comment..
Basically, I am actually working on a model of human time perception that predicts exactly the opposite of this phenomenon. The model says that the the amount of time passed is due to the amount of salient (prominent) features in the external world. The summation of salient events in the world leads to actual increases in the perceived amount of time passed. There is some evidence of this in a study which asked people at random points throughout the year (how much time do you feel has passed?’ – and there was no difference between months.
What does change – rather than the perception of time – is your memory and thoughts about time. So I imagine the phenomenon of days seeming longer in winter and shorter in summer is due to the way we think about the past – rather than how we feel and think about the present!
lexie lou adams commented on :
this is the best answer