Vladimir Shiltsev, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, IL

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.

Keywords: acceleration, subjective time, mathematical models, perception, newness effects