On Soft Mathematical Models of Subjective Time Acceleration with Age

TL;DR

This paper explores conceptual mathematical models explaining why subjective time appears to accelerate with age, highlighting a novel model that accounts for experience novelty and aligns well with observed perceptions.

Contribution

It introduces a new 'soft' mathematical model based on experience novelty, providing a plausible explanation for subjective time acceleration with age.

Findings

The novelty-based model fits decadal subjective time acceleration data.

Proportionality theories are less consistent with observed phenomena.

The model offers insights into human perception of life experience accumulation.

Abstract

It is a commonplace perception that speed of time subjectively experienced by humans significantly differs from chronological (objective) time and shows a great deal of variability. An often cited example is the phenomenon of the time acceleration with age - subjectively, the time passes faster as we get older. While the exact mechanisms behind it are not yet fully established, here we consider three 'soft' (conceptual) mathematical models that might be applicable to the speeding time phenomenon: two proportionality theories widely discussed in the past and the original model that takes into account the novelty of experience effect. The latter is found the most plausible, as not only it satisfactorily describes the decadal subjective time acceleration, but also offers a reasonable explanation of the human life experience accumulation with age.