According to our unscientific office poll, the annual changing of the clocks has all the popularity of a root canal. With few exceptions, people described the shift to and from Daylight Saving Time as disorienting, arbitrary, and unwelcome.
On a more existential level, winding the clocks back and forth reminds us that no matter how concrete minutes and hours may feel, the way we perceive time is fluid. Time flies when you’re having fun. A watched pot never boils.
So to celebrate (or perhaps protest) another year setting back the clocks, the Outside/In team has uncovered four mini-stories that will poke at, stretch, or even obliterate your perception of time. From “time expansion experiences”, to time-space synaesthesia, to the slow-motion life of a fly, prepare for a totally different type of time warp.
Featuring Steve Taylor, Rhitu Chatterjee, Kevin Healy, Katherine Akey, and Patricia Lynne Duffy.
SUPPORT
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LINKS
“To reignite the joy of childhood, learn to live on ‘toddler time’,” by Rhitu Chatterjee, is part of NPR’s special series “Finding Time.”
“Can you see time?” (BBC News), by Victoria Gill, includes a drawing depicting an example of what a year might look like to a synesthete.
Research reveals which animals perceive time the fastest
“When Seconds Turn Into Minutes: Time Expansion Experiences in Altered States of Consciousness,” by Steve Taylor
CREDITS
Host: Nate Hegyi
Produced by Felix Poon
Reported by Felix Poon, Taylor Quimby, Nate Hegyi, and Justine Paradis
Edited by Taylor Quimby, with additional editing help by Justine Paradis
Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer
Special thanks to Jack Rodolico, Rick Ganley, Genevieve Andress, Mara Hoplamazian, Gabriela Lozada, Rebecca Lavoie, and Jason Moon for their thoughts on Daylight Saving Time, and to Anina Rich and David Brang for their expert knowledge on synesthesia.
Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Jharee, Isola James, 369, Suedo, The US Army Band, and Rand Aldo.
Theme music by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.
