Robert Cray - "Time Makes Two"

Does life speed up as you get older?

(Copyright: Thinkstock)

If you are like me, you’ll be astonished to discover it’s already halfway through the year. And before you know it, Thanksgiving or Christmas will be upon you yet again.

When I was a child it all seemed so different. I thought it was the dumbest, most obvious thing for my relatives to point out how much I’d grown since they last saw me. Now I spend my time constantly surprised at the way the months and years fly by, I finally understand what they meant. The schoolsummer holidays used to stretch on forever. Now summer is gone in the blink of an eye. How can it be almost seven years since Hurricane Katrina, and twenty-six since the explosion at Chernobyl, when I remember so clearly hearing those news stories?

I know I’m not alone. The sensation that life is speeding up is a commonly reported aspect of ageing. Experiments have suggested that our ability to assess the passing of time does alter with age. If you ask a twenty-year-old and a seventy-year-old person to guess when a minute has passed without counting, the younger person does it more accurately, while time appears to be going slightly faster for the older person.

American biologist Robert B. Sothern has spent forty-five years seeing if he encounters a similar effect as he ages. Five times a day he records his temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and estimation of the passing of a minute. He never misses a day, even when he’s on holiday. His main research interest is in whether the timing of medical treatments can affect their efficacy, a theory about which most researchers remain sceptical, but his diligent self-study does tell us something extraordinary about time perception. As he has become older his time estimation has become less accurate and time seems to be gradually speeding up.

This is not as straightforward as it seems. The way we assess time remains something of a mystery. Nowhere in the brain has anyone been able to find a single area dedicated to time perception. We do have a body clock that rules our 24-hour sleep/wake cycle, however, this only governs our circadian rhythms and plays no role in estimating seconds, minutes, or even the years passing.

But different medical conditions indicate that at least four different parts of the brain could have a role in time perception. Children with Tourette’s Syndrome, for example, who need to use the pre-frontal cortex just behind the forehead to help them control their tics, are better at estimating intervals of just over a second than other children. Meanwhile, studies in which children with ADHD are given time estimation tasks showstime passes very slowly for them. This backs up other findings suggesting time perception is linked to the dopamine system in the brain. So for these children sitting still for five minutes could feel like far longer.

Breaking routines

That said, the idea that time feels as though it’s going faster in middle age appears to be a myth. In fact, it depends on the time-frame you are considering. In time perception studies, adults in mid-life report that the hours and days pass at what feels like a normal speed; it is the years that flash by.

As I have discussed in my book Time Warped: Unlocking the mysteries of Time Perception, I believe this is because we constantly assess time in two ways. We look at it prospectively, asking ourselves how fast time passing right now. And then we also gauge it retrospectively – has fast did yesterday or last week go by?

Usually these two perceptions match up and time feels smooth, but sometimes they get out of sync. Ageing is an example of this.  The days still feel as though they pass at an average speed, but we’re surprised when markers of time indicated how many months and years have passed or at how quickly birthdays come round yet again. Part of the reason is that as we get older life inevitably brings fewer fresh experiences, and more routines. Because we use the number of new memories we form to gauge how much time has passed, an average week that doesn’t loom large in the memory gives the illusion that time is shrinking.

There is a remedy. If you want the weekend to go slowly, don’t spend time resting and watching TV. Instead fill it with new experiences and by Sunday night you will look back and the weekend will seem long.

That said, we do have to ask ourselves whether we really want to slow time down. If you look at the circumstances where evidence tells us that time goes slowly, they include having a very high temperature, feeling rejected and experiencing depression.

So, as surprising or frustrating as it might seem, perhaps if life does seem to be rushing by it is a sign that things are going well.

If you want to test your own time perception, there are some games you can play on Claudia's website. 

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You can hear more Medical Myths on Health Check on the BBC World Service.

Disclaimer

All content within this column is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. The BBC is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based on the content of this site. The BBC is not liable for the contents of any external internet siteslisted, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites. Always consult your own GP if you're in any way concerned about your health.

Fonte: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120709-does-life-speed-up-as-you-age

Time’s 100 ‘Most Influential People in the World’ list

Time magazine released its annual list of the 100 "Most Influential People in the World" on Wednesday. Among them: Barack Obama; Mitt Romney; Hillary Clinton; Warren Buffett; Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; Pippa Middleton; Tim Tebow; Jeremy Lin and Matt Lauer.

The magazine said it picked people "who inspire us, entertain us, challenge us and change our world." And not always for the better. Included on the list were Syrian president Bashar Assad, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and spiritual leader of the Taliban Mullah Mohammed Omar. Somali Islamic militant Sheik Moktar Ali Zubeyr was included in the "rogues gallery" too.

Anonymous, the controversial Internet "hacktivist" collective, won the magazine's online poll for its inclusion on the 2012 list.

There are 38 women on the 2012 list, more than any other year, Time said. Adele, Rihanna and "Saturday Night Live" star Kristen Wiig made it, while singer Lana Del Rey--the Internet sensation who had been nominated--did not.

As with any list, there were other snubs: Romney and fellow Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul were selected, but Newt Gingrich was not. Stephen Colbert, Time decided, was more influential than Jon Stewart.

There were a few questionable--though not unworthy--inclusions with ties to Time. Former editorWalter Isaacson, who penned Time's cover story on Steve Jobs' death--made the list for his biography of the late Apple founder. Mashable founder Pete Cashmore—whose site was rumored to be close to a sale to Time-corporate sibling CNN earlier this year--made the list for the first time.

As has become traditional, Time solicited essays about honorees from fellow luminaries. Obamawrote about Buffett and Lin about Tebow:

Watching Tim Tebow play football, you can observe many things about his character. You see his fierce competitiveness, his strong work ethic and how he is a leader that his teammates trust and respect.

But it is the qualities that Tim, 24, embodies in his life off the field that truly set him apart. He is unashamed of his convictions and faith, and he lives a life that consistently reflects his values, day in and day out. Through his foundation, he constantly reaches out to people and communities in need of hope. He realizes what he has been blessed with and seeks to help those who are worse off. As athletes, we pour our hearts into winning games. Tim is a reminder that life is about much more than that.

See the complete Time 100 list.

Corinthians fecha parceria e empresta nome a clube argentino

1. Notícia

Clube paulista fecha parceria e batiza Corinthians Santa Fé na Argentina

Foto: Piervi Fonseca/Agif/Gazeta Press

Em cerimônia comandada pelo diretor de marketing Luis Paulo Rosenberg, o Corinthians apresentou nesta segunda-feira sua parceria com o argentino Santa Fé Fútbol Club, que passa a se chamar Sport Club Corinthians Santa Fé. A proposta é receber jovens formados na cidade que fica a 500 km de Buenos Aires e fazê-los brilhar no Brasil.

"Será um viveiro de craques", prometeu Rosenberg, pouco depois de mostrar o novo símbolo da equipe argentina: quase idêntico ao do Corinthians, com a bandeira do país vizinho substituindo a de São Paulo. Curiosamente, o clube não adotou o mesmo expediente na parceria com o Corinthians Paranaense, cujo escudo não carrega a bandeira do Paraná. "É simples: a bandeira do Paraná tem verde", explicou Rosenberg, lembrando da rivalidade com o Palmeiras.

Na prática, porém, os dois acordos são semelhantes. Jucilei, trazido do clube paranaense como aposta, deu certo, rendeu lucros aos cofres alvinegros e virou exemplo. "Agora resolvemos internacionalizar esse investimento. Encontramos um bando de loucos em Santa Fé e eles aceitaram o desafio", emendou Rosenberg, destacando as importâncias mercadológica e esportiva do negócio.

"Tem a ver com nossa ansiedade de ocupar o mundo, tirar o Corinthians exclusivamente das fronteiras brasileiras e fazer essa paixão transbordar. Onde encontramos um núcleo de malucos, tentamos nos aproximar. Esse mesmo esforço tentamos desenvolver na China", explicou. "A capacidade que a região de Santa Fé tem de gerar craques é reconhecida na Argentina inteira".

O Corinthians acredita que os jovens talentos da Argentina vão se interessar mais pelo Santa Fé ao tomarem conhecimento do intercâmbio com uma equipe do Brasil, que tem o mercado mais aquecido que o argentino. O clube paulista não vai interferir nas finanças de sua "filial", mas deve enviar membros da comissão técnica periodicamente para acompanhar de perto os jovens valores e escolher os melhores, que podem vir para a base ou até direto para o profissional.

O clube de Santa Fé existe há seis anos e mantém atividades apenas nas divisões amadoras, com exclusiva intenção de formar jogadores. De acordo com a diretoria, mais de 50 atletas já estão espalhados por clubes da Argentina, sendo que o de maior destaque é o meia-atacante Julián Cardozo, do Arsenal de Sarandí.

Fonte: Esportes Terra