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1-Page Summary of The Time Paradox

Overview

Steve Jobs once said, “It’s clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” If this is so, then why do we understand so little about the nature of time? It’s not just that time is an abstract topic. We also perceive it differently and experience it differently as well.

Time is important. It affects how we think and act, as well as our health. Stanford psychologist Philip Zimbardo explains why time perception differs from person to person and the importance of this topic. You’ll also learn how you can use your perception of time to make it better.

Big Idea #1: My time is not the same as your time; how we perceive time explains how we live and who we are.

Time is an abstract concept. We can’t see it, touch it or smell it, and therefore we find it hard to understand. It’s because time is so difficult to grasp that our perception of time has changed throughout history. For example, prehistoric people focused on the present moment in order to avoid immediate threats and stay alive. They didn’t even have a vocabulary for talking about the future, so they were completely focused on the present moment.

People started to track the seasons and lunar cycles. They eventually became aware of their future, but they still thought about time subjectively. Today, we’re obsessed with time because our lives revolve around school semesters, financial quarters and 24-hour news. We use “time” as a word more than any other in English. Yet time is subjective; it differs from person to person based on how each one perceives it. There are two main ways people perceive time: when they observe the passage of clock time (as when you see that an hour has passed), or when they think about the amount of life experience they’ve had since birth (as when you realize that you’re older now than your parents were at your age).

Big Idea #2: Sad memories shape who you are today. Yet rose-colored glasses help make today more positive.

To better understand time, let’s start with the past. Why does the past matter? Because our memories of it are what we use to create our present and future.

Psychologist Alfred Adler used to ask his patients about their first memory. He believed that it was an indicator of the patient’s current life. For example, anxiety could stem from a fear of abandonment in childhood.

The Time Paradox Book Summary, by Philip G. Zimbardo, John Boyd