Experiencing Time—A Commentary on Recent Perspectives on the Perception of Time

Abstract

The research reported in this article demonstrates that the passage of time is not directly perceived. The implication is that time is the only environmental stimulus that cannot be directly experienced as perceived sensory feedback

The research reported in this article demonstrates that the passage of time is not directly perceived. This conclusion is supported by the following observations: 1) down through the millennia, there have been recurrent ergonomic efforts to design technological proxies—from the pyramids to the atomic clock—for detecting the passage of time; and 2) these efforts point to our reliance on technology, rather than our own sensory feedback control capabilities, to track time. The implication of the research is that time represents the only environmental stimulus that cannot be directly experienced as perceived sensory feedback.