Time Perception
The passing days are marked by memories of what was done. The more things done, the longer the span of perceived time, generally speaking.
I met with a friend today (Alek) who told me he always feels like he doesn't have enough time. The last time I met him, a year ago, he said that he would need multiple lifetimes to accomplish all that he wants to do. He says he feels old too, at the incredible age of 22.
I replied back that 22 is not old; I don't feel old and I'm just a year younger than him. But Alek is a busy person. He's double majoring in mathematics and physics (I hope I got that right), is a leader of the rocket club at his college, conducts undergraduate research, and manages time for his girlfriend. Maybe he feels old because he's already filled his memory with emotionally vivid moments.
I wonder if there's a set perceived life duration that everybody reaches at the end of their life. Memories are constantly being lost. So maybe there's a point in one's lifetime during which new memories are made at the same rate as old ones are lost. So that their perception of their age remains constant. If someone were to forget more memories than they make, would they feel younger overtime?
My intuition tells me no, which makes me question whether more memories = longer perceived life.
Review
Throughout the year I am going to collect a lot of mnemonic images. To stop me from forgetting them, I need a system to review them. So far, I've remembered what I did yesterday via the Calendar Method and because not much time has passed for forgetting to occur. To remember an image even a year later I've brainstormed the following review systems:
- Reiew all the images every morning/night
- Review all images, splitting the review session between waiting times of the day (being in line, driving, etc.) and time before bed
- Review the last seven images every day (this assumes that after reviewing an image for seven days I won't forget that image for a year)
- Review last three images, then review all images that have the same day of the month as today (similar to Lembran Sar's review system when he first started using his Calendar Method)
To come up with better review systems I need to do some research on how our minds best store, learn, and retrieve information. I can make a list of features that a good review system should have, and then brainstorm systems that satisfy the most features possible.
For now, I'm going to review all images everyday since there aren't too many to manage yet.
Mnemonic Image
Last night at ~4:00AM I was on the toilet because I felt extremely ill after eating an entire large bag of Honey BBQ Fritos. The fritos were delightful, the agonizing stomach pain and toilet trip was not. I called in sick that night (via Teams text, my supervisor will see the message after he gets back from his vacation) because I didn't want to work with the sleep deprivation and stomach pain. I work at 11:00AM, so staying up late usually isn't an issue, but I was awake till at least 5:00AM, so I would've definitely been sleepy.
After a while the pain subsided and I was able to sleep. I then woke up in the afternoon, laid in bed, and had the meeting with Alek. After that, I went home and took a nap for a few hours, I think. My mother called me around 8:00 to ask if I wanted anything to eat. She lives nearby so sometimes she offers. I said no because I was in bed and napping. After that I think I napped some more.
The highlight of my day was definitely sitting on the toilet barely able to poop anything out while being bloated and in immense stomach pain, meeting with Alek, and getting a call from Mom at ~8:00PM. To represent that, my mnemonic image will be of me blasting Frito poop into Aleks mouth. The blast is so strong that it penetrates through his mouth and out his head. The poop splatters on a giant phone. Here it is:
- Poop blast - Frito toilet experience
- Alek's Mouth - Talking with Alek
- Splatter on phone - Call from Mom ~8:00PM
Here is the image on the calendar:
