Did it seem like this year was shorter than the last? This interactive timeline explains how your brain’s perception of time might be changing more and more as you get older to make it seem like time is passing by faster than it really is.


This timeline from Maximilian Kiener suggests that we perceive time relative to the “absolute” time we compare it to. In other words, the longer you’re alive, the smaller a year becomes in relation to your entire life as a whole. For example, when you’re five, a year is 20% of your entire life. When you’re 50, however, a year is only 2% of your life. The timeline, based on a theory from philosopher Paul Janet, lets you scroll down to pass time and explains the concept in a clever, easy to understand way. So if your time seems to be passing you by faster than it used to, you’re not crazy, you’re just getting older. Relish every good moment you can, because there’s a good chance those moments will start to zoom by. You can check out the interactive timeline at the link below.


Time | Maximilian Kiener via Flowing Data