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Have you ever thought about how your perception of time changes as you get older?


Road Runner

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I bought my first new car in 1968.  I know that was a long time ago, but to me it still seems that 1968 (53 years ago) was a fairly modern era.  OTOH, if in 1968, I had contemplated life 53 years before that, in 1915, I would have considered that period to be quite "ancient".    :)

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2 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

I bought my first new car in 1968.  I know that was a long time ago, but to me it still seems that 1968 (53 years ago) was a fairly modern era.  OTOH, if in 1968, I had contemplated life 53 years before that, in 1915, I would have considered that period to be quite "ancient".    :)

Yep.   Stop and think about the things that did not exist when you were born.

Personal computers, cell phones, 

MTV

 

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There is a good Wait Buy Why column from 2020 that talks about the perceptions of time

https://waitbutwhy.com/2020/01/its-2020-and-youre-in-the-future.html

 

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Also, remember when Jurassic Park, The Lion King, and Forrest Gump came out in theaters? Closer to the moon landing than today.

 

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As for you, if you’re 60 or older, you were born closer to the 1800s than today.

 

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19 minutes ago, Kirby said:

Also, remember when Jurassic Park, The Lion King, and Forrest Gump came out in theaters? Closer to the moon landing than today

Another example that occurs to me at times.  Shows that are 30 years old seem quite recent to me.  Seinfeld and Cheers seem like just yesterday.  But 30 years ago, I would have considered most shows made in 1961 to be very old and outdated.   

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The realization that I am more than halfway through my life is frightening.  No Razors Edge folks have lived into their 100s (that I know of).  It is humbling and a bit scary. 

I spend a lot of time with my nieces and nephews, and many are now becoming adults born in the post-9/11 era.  They have no idea how much things have changed since then.

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47 minutes ago, jsharr said:

Yep.   Stop and think about the things that did not exist when you were born.

In my case, AM radio was king, and TV was almost non-existant.  The year I was born, Hitler had only been dead for three years and the Korean War was still two years away.  

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1 hour ago, Road Runner said:

I bought my first new car in 1968.  I know that was a long time ago, but to me it still seems that 1968 (53 years ago) was a fairly modern era.  OTOH, if in 1968, I had contemplated life 53 years before that, in 1915, I would have considered that period to be quite "ancient".    :)

I've thought about the same thing a lot.  When I mention my childhood to my younger nephew, who will be 13 in June, things I mention to him about the 1950's are like people mentioning the 1890's to me.  Yet I don't think of the 50's as "ancient."  In the 50's we had cars, TV's, and many other modern things.  Of course, no Internet and getting something from a sub shop or pizzeria was a rare treat compared to today and fast food was in its infancy, but it was still closer to today's lifestyle than the 1890's was to the 1950's or 60's.

I asked my 12 year-old nephew Adam, whose national functional tests put him in the top 1% in reading and top 0.1% in math and if very knowledgeable for his age, if he thinks of the 1950's are being ancient.  Without hesitating, he replied, "Of course it's ancient."

When I took him to Gettysburg and told him I could remember when the last Civil War veteran died, he probably thought, "God, Uncle Mick is really old!"

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12 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

he probably thought, "God, Uncle Mick is really old!"

And he's right!  :D

I remember when my grandfather was younger than I am now and I thought he was extremely old and decrepit.  Of course, the white hair and no teeth didn't help.  :)

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Yes. Most recently I reminded some students that, to them, a non-gendered potato head toy seems like the answer to a non-existent question, but children 15 years from now won’t know there was ever a conversation about it. Just like years ago, when they were born, people thought a glitch in computer programming would shut down the whole digital infrastructure because computers hadn’t been told to change the date to start with the number “20.” They didn’t even know that Y2K was a thing. 

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