Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site utcsri.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcsri!panos From: panos@utcsri.UUCP (Panos Economopoulos) Newsgroups: net.med Subject: Visualization of `time' Message-ID: <1909@utcsri.UUCP> Date: Thu, 9-Jan-86 01:41:42 EST Article-I.D.: utcsri.1909 Posted: Thu Jan 9 01:41:42 1986 Date-Received: Thu, 9-Jan-86 01:48:10 EST Distribution: net Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto Lines: 32 --------------------------------- The recent postings about the perception of numbers remind me of a realization I had a few years ago regarding the way I (and others) perceive `time'. Sometimes, friends and I would agree on the basic visualization but would position ourselves differently (different viewpoint). At other times, the visualization would be radically different. For example, I visualize the seasons as lying on a circle (actually a flat torus) which is almost level but tilted a bit upwards. Winter is on top, fall and spring to the left and right and summer at the bottom. When I look at it I sit at about the end of summer and beginning of fall. Another thing is the visualization of years. For example, when you hear 1960 or 1971 how do you visualize them with respect to 1985? To me, it seems that years are on a line that passes in front of me with the future being to the right. I seem to position myself to some distance from the line and at about the present, and looking a bit backwards. If I think of the present I change to the circular representation even though I have to revolve a few times if I consider more than one year (:-) When I think of the future, it seems that I sit on the line looking straight ahead. It would be interesting to hear from other people how they visualize or otherwise perceive time. Also, if anybody knows of any publiced studies on the subject I would be interested in looking up the reference. -- Panos Economopoulos UUCP: {decvax,linus,ihnp4,uw-beaver,allegra,utzoo}!utcsri!panos CSNET: panos@toronto