Where Did the Time Go? Do Not Ask the Brain
By Benedict Carey
Many people have recently been asking themselves questions like, “what happened to 2009” and, “did we really just start a new decade?” It seems like the previous decade has gone by much faster than others, why? Because the brain is awful at telling time. Scientists have been studying how the brain keeps time but have not proved anything yet. Some think that certain cells count intervals in the brain like an internal clock. But this clock is not good at telling time. For example, when a group of college students where asked when Brittany Spears shaved her head, on average they were 3 months off. Another example is a French explorer who spent 2 months in a cave without being able to tell if it were day or night. He was convinced he had only spent 25 days in the cave. The way time is kept in the brain depends on what is happening in that person’s life. Something emotional such as a breakup or getting married seems much more recent than it really was. Memories help the brain tell time. This is why other people’s children seem to grow up much faster than their own. Because they only have memories of that child when they were much smaller, compared to their own children who they see everyday and can not notice their growth. Overall, it is very hard to comprehend how the brain tells time and no scientist has discovered exactly how it does. What we do know is that it is bad at telling time.
This article can relate to all human beings because everybody has trouble telling time with their brain. It tells about how the brain tells time and why it is so bad at telling time too. This article relates to me because I also have trouble at telling time without a clock or calendar.
Overall this was a good article. It was able to make this complicated subject about the brain into a comprehendible article about time. It had good examples of how awful the brain is with time and why it is so bad with it too. Overall this was a great article.
This was a very well written article. I liked how it was very easy to relate to, and it had some good examples, such as your children growing up. I also thought it was very well presented in how there were legitimate experiments that have taken place in investigating this theory and then included in this article.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I would've liked to know more about is how this theory came about. Also, I was curious about your opinion on this idea.
All in all this was a great written review, very easy to read; interesting yet informative. Great job Brewster!
I liked the article that Brewster reviewed, though it's not of my interest. Brewster was able to make this simple topic into a problem. Also, he gave interesting examples of this problem. And, he made this topic interesting by relating to us.
ReplyDeleteBrewster could've given more examples. And, he could've explained how this problem will affect us.
I would like to learn more on this topic because I myself have been forgetting that it is 2010 now.
I thought Brewster's article was very interesting. i liked how he gave alot of details. Such as, when Britney Spears shaved her head. I also found it interesting that they went through so many experiments to try and figure this out. Finally, i liked how this review just flowed and it was easy to read. I thought Brewster could have made it clear as to why the brain does this. Brewster also could have put more detail into why it could effect us. Otherwise, this article was very well written!
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