{"id":86299,"date":"2022-12-04T22:05:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T02:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=86299"},"modified":"2022-12-14T15:48:49","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T19:48:49","slug":"is-time-just-an-illusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/is-time-just-an-illusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Time Just an Illusion? How Our View of Time Steals Our Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Is time just an illusion? Is it objective or subjective? How does our perception of time impact our happiness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Mo Gawdat, the idea that time exists independently of us is wrong. He argues that time isn\u2019t an objective feature of reality. The more we realize that, he says, the more we can focus on the present and find happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Continue reading to understand Gawdat&#8217;s argument, as presented in his book <em>Solve for Happy<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-is-time-just-an-illusion\">Is Time Just an Illusion?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To defend his position, Gawdat offers two related arguments. First, he observes that the subjective experience of time differs from person to person. For instance, if you\u2019re in the middle of a workout, you\u2019ll perceive time as passing slowly, while your friend at a party might perceive it as passing quicker. If time were objective, we shouldn\u2019t expect these subjective differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In a similar vein, research indicates that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/think-well\/202011\/why-time-goes-faster-we-age#:~:text=Children%20perceive%20and%20lay%20down,more%20rapidly%20as%20we%20age.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">we perceive time as passing more quickly<\/a> as we age. In particular, children lay down more \u201cmemory frames\u201d per second than adults, so their memories contain more visual information relative to adults\u2019 memories. Because their brains capture more mental information per unit of time, children perceive time as passing more slowly.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, Gawdat appeals to Einstein\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/theory-of-relativity-explained\/\">theory of relativity<\/a>, which holds that time exists alongside space in a four-dimensional structure called <em>spacetime<\/em>. According to relativity, time\u2019s passage relative to an object varies based on factors like the object\u2019s velocity and gravitational forces. Thus, twin siblings would age at different rates if one sibling were on Earth while another were moving at a high velocity in outer space. Because relativity views time as malleable, Gawdat concludes that it\u2019s incompatible with our rigid conception of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Although Gawdat cites Einstein\u2019s theory of relativity as evidence that time is illusory, others have argued that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/188696#metadata_info_tab_contents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">relativity theory is consistent with our common conception of time<\/a>. They suggest that time moves linearly within individual frames of reference; since our frame of reference is mostly fixed, it\u2019s true that time moves linearly for us. At the least, then, relativity theory doesn\u2019t decisively <em>prove <\/em>that time is illusory.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By realizing that our understanding of time is illusory, we can avoid the suffering that understanding causes. For instance, we treat the past and the future as real entities, and our thoughts about them cause suffering\u2014we regret past misfortunes and dread future decisions. Instead, we can focus on what\u2019s real: the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>The Benefits of Thinking Positively About the Future<\/strong><br><br>Despite Gawdat\u2019s claim that thinking about the future causes us to suffer, others have argued that <a href=\"https:\/\/greatergood.berkeley.edu\/article\/item\/how_thinking_about_the_future_makes_life_more_meaningful#:~:text=Research%20suggests%20that%20thinking%20about,more%20generous%20and%20fulfilled%20lives.&amp;text=Mindfulness%20is%20all%20the%20rage,compassion%2C%20and%20help%20our%20relationships.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letting our mind <em>positively <\/em>ruminate on the future has numerous benefits<\/a>. In particular, studies show that these benefits include:<br><br>\u2022 <strong>Improved <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/integrative-decision-making\/\">decision making<\/a>:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/home.uchicago.edu\/bartels\/papers\/Bartels-Rips-2010-JEPG.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Identifying with our future self prevents <em>short-term bias<\/em><\/a>, where we irrationally favor present goods over future rewards.<br><br>\u2022 <strong>Increased motivation to reach our goals:<\/strong> Having <a href=\"https:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/record\/1991-25073-001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">positive expectations for future weight loss<\/a> made participants more likely to lose weight.<br><br>\u2022 <strong>Improved psychological well-being:<\/strong> Positively journaling about the future can be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/17439760.2017.1365161\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">healing for trauma victims<\/a>.<br><br>Because these studies all involve <em>positive <\/em>thoughts about the future, however, we shouldn\u2019t conclude that <em>all <\/em>thinking about the future is beneficial. For instance, the same weight-loss study listed above concluded that those with <em>negative expectations <\/em>about the future were least likely to lose weight. In turn, we can distinguish between future-oriented thoughts which lead to suffering and those which lead to flourishing.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is time just an illusion? Is it objective or subjective? How does our perception of time impact our happiness? According to Mo Gawdat, the idea that time exists independently of us is wrong. He argues that time isn\u2019t an objective feature of reality. The more we realize that, he says, the more we can focus on the present and find happiness. Continue reading to understand Gawdat&#8217;s argument, as presented in his book Solve for Happy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":86304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,21],"tags":[828],"class_list":["post-86299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-philosophy","tag-solve-for-happy","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is Time Just an Illusion? How Our View of Time Steals Our Joy - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is time just an illusion? According to Mo Gawdat, it is. When we realize that, we can focus on the present and find happiness. 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