Lebanese International University Living Sense of Time Essay

Although we may ordinarily think of time as a straightforward progression of moments, the readings present a view that our experience of time is the product of the mind’s work of integrating, synchronizing, and reflecting on our experience. Eagleman explains that our perception of the present moment is a synchronization of data received at different speeds from different senses to form perceptions, which are “representations of information that cognitive systems can work with later” (6). Hoffman observes that due to “fast time,” our capacity to reflect (11) and make sense of our lives, is at risk. “It is as if we have substituted speed for significance,” she writes (13). Wittman claims that the present moment lasts three seconds, the “maximum duration” of “the brain’s capacity for temporal integration” (16). Making explicit reference to all three of the essays in this reading set, write an essay on the following question: How does the mind create our living sense of time?