Theme Song
If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- Why does the human brain perceive life as a continuous sequence of three-second intervals, and how does this quirk shape the music and poetry we create?
- Does time actually slow down in your brain during a terrifying event like a car crash, or is your mind playing tricks on you?
- Why do action-packed vacations seem to fly by in the moment, yet feel significantly longer than our dull daily routines when we look back on them?
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Key Takeaways from Felt Time
- Our brains possess a psychological pacemaker that counts time pulses; when we actively pay attention to time, we count more pulses, making the wait feel much longer.
- The human ability to delay gratification is a unique evolutionary trait heavily linked to long-term success, higher test scores, and better career paths.
- The brain registers the 'unit of now' in three-second intervals, which our short-term memory stitches together to form continuous experiences like listening to a song.
- Although terrifying experiences like a steep fall feel longer subjectively, our brain's objective processing speed of visual information does not actually increase.
- Time perception flips in retrospect; periods filled with novel experiences fly by in the moment but feel long in memory, whereas dull routines drag on but are forgotten quickly.
Learning Tools
Reinforce what you learned from Felt Time
Mind Map
Felt Time
Internal Clocks+
Delayed Gratification+
The Now & Memory+
Processing Speeds & Context+
The Time Paradox+
Mastering Time+
Quiz — Test Your Understanding
Question 1 of 7
According to Michel Treisman's theory of the psychological clock, why does time seem to pass more quickly when we are distracted?
Question 2 of 7
What did psychologist Jurgen Aschoff's 1960s experiment with volunteers in a dark room demonstrate?
Question 3 of 7
What was the primary long-term finding of Walter Mischel's 1988 marshmallow test with children?
Question 4 of 7
According to the research of Ernst Poppel, why do many verses in songs and poems last approximately three seconds?
Question 5 of 7
What did David Eagleman's amusement park tower drop experiment reveal about our perception of time during frightening events?
Question 6 of 7
How does our memory of a highly active and eventful vacation differ from our experience of it in the moment?
Question 7 of 7
According to the book, what is the underlying psychological cause of the stress created by the modern world's frenzied pace?
Felt Time — Full Chapter Overview
- 1Recommendation
- 2We have psychological and physiological clocks that keep us aligned with time’s flow.
- 3Humans can trade immediate rewards for future gains, and this capacity for waiting brings significant benefits.
- 4For the brain, life unfolds in three-second moments, linked together by short-term memory.
- 5When it comes to how the brain processes time, individuals vary, but circumstances do not.
- 6The faster time seems to pass in the moment, the longer that period feels when we look back.
- 7Get structured, separate work from leisure, and cultivate mindfulness to feel calmer about life’s tempo.
Felt Time Summary & Overview
Felt Time (2014) examines how your brain processes time. These blinks present fascinating facts and theories about how our bodies perceive time, and offers advice on how to make the most of the present moment, deal with boredom and control the pace of our lives.
Who Should Listen to Felt Time?
- Psychologists, neuroscientists and brain researchers
- People fascinated by the concept of time
- Anyone wishing to reduce their stress levels
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