Dutch temperatures always feel different than the official ones due to the wind chill factor. The word “time chill factor” does not exist although the word “chillen” has a time-related meaning nowadays. Nevertheless, everyone feels his/her own relative time compared to the absolute official time, as shown on clocks. PBS: “Since no brain is the same, every person will have their own limits of time perception and their own sphere of now”.
The wind chill factor relates to “the perceived decrease in air temperature felt by the body on exposed skin due to the flow of air” (Wiki). Similarly, the “time chill factor” would then relate to the perceived decrease – or increase – in elapsed time as felt by the human mind due to a lack – or abundance – of images and/or sounds.
Today’s concept of Time is an ancient Sumerian invention and rooted in astronomy following (i) Earth’s daily orbit around its own axis, (ii) the moon’s “monthly” (ie, 29.5 day) orbit around Earth, and (iii) Earth’s annual orbit around the Sun. Also see yesterday’s Fasten your seatbelts blog.
The Sumerian civilization used a Base-60 rather than a decimal or Base-10 system for its calculations. Today, we still have 60 seconds, 60 minutes, and 24 hours in a day rather than 100 seconds, 100 minutes, and 8.64 hours. Base-60 can be divided by more numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) than Base-10 (1, 2, and 5). Also see my blogs on Numbers and Why is Life digital?
It’s interesting that the saying “times flies when you’re having fun” originated around 1800, shortly after the Industrial Revolution (c. 1760 – 1820/40). I am convinced that the 3 phases of the Technological Revolution of 1800-2100 define the current “time chill factor”: (1) Mechanization (19th century), (2) Automation (20th century), (3) Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (21st century).
The time chill factor is illustrated by a superb Business Insider video which rightfully claims that it “will change your perception of time”. The last 20 seconds of this 3.5 minute video show the enormous acceleration of changes as a result of the Technological Revolution of 1800-2100. Please also see my 24 May 2017 blog on the philosophical belief in Accelerationism.
Marc Bolan (1947-1977) once stated that “time passes so slowly if you are unaware of it and so quickly if you are aware of it”. His statement connects the relative awareness and consciousness in the human mind to the absoluteness of time. It also explains why some people feel bored (eg, teenagers), while other people are running out of time. Also see my blog Busy busy busy.
The time chill factor is also relevant to what we refer to as the Now or the Present. Actually, this period is “the recent memory of the immediate past and the expectation of the near future” (PBS). The Now or Present may not even exist given the finite speed of light and/or sound, and the required processing time of our brain. If the Now does exist, it lasts less than a second.
Time (Clock of the Heart) – 1982 – by Culture Club
band, lyrics, video, Wiki-band, Wiki-song
Time is like a clock in my heart
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless in quotes or stated otherwise.
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