In order to examine how our perceptions of time have changed, lets start by looking into how hunter gatherers might have perceived time.
As there is no written records and little archaeological evidence to support any theory it is difficult to know what someone’s perception of time would have been pre-history. It would be fair to suggest that their concept of the passing of time and the stretch of time would have been influenced by the following natural rhythms:
The next meal:
Being hunter gatherers, the next meal was not assured and so hunger would have been one of the natural rhythms that would have informed the hunter gatherer of the passing of time.
Lunar:
Sitting around a campfire, the major rhythm that the hunter gather would have noticed would be the phases of the moon. Before we had lights that we could control (candles etc) the full moon would have been a big deal. The vast majority of pre-history calendars are lunar calendars.
Seasonal:
Hunter gatherers who lived in the temperate zones would have been aware of the passing of time through the seasons.
Solar:
Hunter gatherers who were close observers of the stars might have noticed the years as well. There are very few examples of solar calendars prior to agricultural civilisation.
Generations:
The other natural rhythm that hunter gathers would have noticed is that of life and death. Burial sites predate building sites and there is evidence to suggest that the Neanderthal also used burial sites.
Pre-history, before we could write, information on how to live was passed from generation to generation via song, story, and other verbal methods. This would also build a concept of the passing of time as hunter gatherers are aware that there were generations before them and generations to come after.
Early Agriculture
The Greeks and the Babylonians noticed that the sun passes through the stars and developed the Zodiac.
Lunar:
The waxing and waning of the moon would still have been an important event and it is with the advent of early agriculture and recorded history that we find first evidence of the ‘moonth’ or the month.
Seasonal:
Crops are, of course, dependant on the seasons and so it would be fair to suggest that for agricultural civilisations the seasons would have been talking on a greater role in the understanding of time.
Let’s compare this to the Industrial age. One of the most influential machines of the industrial age would have been the watch. Prior to the 17th century there were clocks but bringing them to the individual would have changed our perception of the passing of time. Thus the phrase o’clock meaning ‘of the clock.’ There is a wonderful illustration of this in a book called ‘A Geography of Time’ by Robert Levine. Robert recounts how in parts of Africa that remain undeveloped time is described in terms of chores. “I will meet you after I have watered the cattle.” This could mean any time between 8am and midday depending on how long it takes to get up, do other chores, herd the cattle etc.
With the advent of the industrial age time was also divided into smaller amounts. There are examples of time motion studies that identify how long it takes a worker to open and close a drawer.
Here and Now:
In the here and now we have an awareness of time that is both global and specific. Initiatives like ‘The Big History Project’ and websites like http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/index.html give us an enormous sense of time that can leave us feeling insignificant. In ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’ the author Douglas Adams makes one of his characters enter a torture device called ‘The Total Perspective Vortex’ which shows you how significant you are in comparison to the universe. The effect is that it blows peoples minds and they usually come out with a fried brain. Awareness that the universe is some 14 billion year old can have this effect.
At the other end of the scale, watching the Olympics and seeing people will medals by 100th of a second shows that we can divide time into amounts so small that it is equally meaningless.
Personal Perspectives:
There are also personal perspectives of time. A couple of examples of this are outlined in NLP. Some people perhaps are said to be ‘In Time’ and others are ‘Through Time.’ People who are said to be ‘In Time’ are more likely to lose consciousness of time and be in the moment. This increases the likelihood that they are late for appointments. ‘Through Time’ people are conscious of their passage through time and are more likely to think ‘If I need to be there at 5.30, then I need to start packing up at 5 and leave at 5.15 …’
Another take on our perspective on time comes from Philip Zimbardo is a professor of Psychology at Stanford University.
As Zimbardo sees it, our perceptions of time can be divided into the following categories:
The Past:
Past-negative Past-positive
The Present:
Present-fatalism Present-hedonism
The Future:
Future Transcendentalist
According to Zimbardo, dependant on where we spend most of our time will have an effect on our decisions and our health. For more information see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3oIiH7BLmg
