Why Time Is Speeding Up#

What is time?#

• Time is presented as deeply mysterious: unseen, unheard, uninfluenceable, yet governing everything; Aristotle called it “the most unknown of all unknown things.” 🧠[1]
• Humans only define time via measurements tied to Earth’s cycles—one rotation for a day and one orbit for a year—units that lose meaning elsewhere in the universe. 🌍[1]
• Time is relative: it moves in one direction, but its speed varies depending on where you are, illustrated by Interstellar’s time dilation example (Miller’s planet: 1 hour equals 7 Earth years). ⏱️[1]

The value of time#

• Time is described as the most valuable resource: even billionaires would trade wealth for more time, with Jeff Bezos cited as funding human longevity efforts, underscoring time’s primacy over money. 💎[1]
• An Alex Hormozi quote captures the paradox of success and youth: wanting to be rich at 20, then later wanting only to be 20—because money is replaceable, but time isn’t. 🔁[1]
• For those driven by wealth, the reminder is to recognize the current possession of the universe’s most valuable asset—time—while noting that money can help slow time in practical, lifestyle ways. 💡[1]

Why time feels faster with age#

• Reason 1: Proportional relativity of lived time—when you’re 1, a year is 100% of your life; at 2, it’s 50%; by 20, a year is 5%, making each year feel proportionally smaller, thus subjectively shorter. 📏[1]
• This framing explains Sam Altman’s idea: the first ~24 years can feel as long as the next 57, given the shrinking subjective fraction each year represents. 🧮[1]
• Barring breakthroughs in immortality, this proportional effect can’t be changed—so the lever is not the clock itself but how the brain encodes experience. ⚙️[1]

The “marker” model of time perception#

• Reason 2: Mental markers—your brain measures time by the density of new experiences; many “firsts” create many markers, stretching subjective time in memory, while routine creates few markers that compress it. 🧩[1]
• Childhood feels slower because everything is new: new foods, people, sports; each novelty sets a marker, producing a denser timeline in memory and a slower felt passage retrospectively. 🧒[1]
• A practical prompt emerges: when did you last do something for the first time? Even small firsts—new road, new food, new friend—can create markers and “stretch” remembered time. 🌱[1]

The Holiday Paradox#

• Claudia Hammond’s “Holiday Paradox”: while on vacation, time feels like it flies; but afterward, that same period feels long in memory because novelty flooded the experience with markers. 🏖️[2][3][1]
• Vacation disrupts autopilot and routine, introducing new places, sounds, people, and foods, which—in retrospect—makes that time feel richer and longer. 📸[3][1]
• This shows two layers of time: the experiencing self often says “it flew,” while the remembering self perceives a longer stretch, due to marker density. 🔄[2][1]

The reminiscence bump#

• The most vividly remembered period, on average, is ages 15–25—the “reminiscence bump,” the peak of autobiographical memories and perceived meaningful experiences across the lifespan. 📈[4][5][1]
• Two drivers: novelty (many firsts like prom, graduation, driving, living alone, and travel) and identity formation (memory tightly intertwined with building who you are, reinforcing relevant memories). 🧭[5][4][1]
• Scientists find delayed bumps mainly in people who undergo major life or identity shifts later, implying identity transitions can re-densify markers beyond early adulthood. 🔁[6][1]

Personal story and applied insight#

• The creator reflects that post-2020 memories feel sparse, with one distinct chapter—living in Toronto—standing out due to abundant firsts. 🏙️[1]
• A vivid anecdote: trying octopus for the first time at a work event; he recalls the plate, people’s outfits, and seating—illustrating how even small novelties produce rich, sticky memories. 🐙[1]
• The lesson: new experiences don’t need to be grand; small firsts can generate strong markers and meaningfully slow subjective time in memory. ✅[1]

The 52-week challenge#

• Commitment: try something new every week for the next 52 weeks, ranging from bigger experiences to simple acts like walking somewhere new—prioritizing novelty and marker creation. 📅[1]
• The goal is to slow down time, enrich life, and build a habit of continuous firsts that accumulate into a denser, more memorable year. 🚀[1]
• Call to action: join the challenge tonight—do 52 things never done before in the next year to reclaim the texture of time. 🎉[1]

Main takeaway: You can’t change the clock, but you can change how your brain experiences it—by intentionally creating new markers through consistent novelty, you slow time in memory and reclaim a fuller sense of life. 🧠✨[1]