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Note from the Editor:
This article was kindly written for the SDC by member @Doctor Alan.


Some years ago, I noticed that when I suddenly turned around to look at a clock, it seemed to have stopped for about one second before resuming ticking. I’ve asked other people about this, and quite a few have had the same experience. Now, we know that clocks don’t do this.

Modern electric clocks have a crystal that allows the electronics to keep spot-on time (in most cases), so why do we think it stops like that?


The other weird thing I’ve noticed about time is when I’m woken from my sleep by a loud bang – something falling in another room, thunder, etc. On quite a few occasions, this has been constructed in my dream just before it happened! That’s weird, to say the least. It’s like having a ‘premonition’ of something happening, just a second or two before it occurs.

Now, I’m a very practical bloke. I don’t believe in all sorts of things that other people believe in, such as ghosts and UFOs, but I have a healthy respect for the knowledge that a significant part of the human brain doesn’t appear to do anything – that we know of, at any rate.

Perhaps ‘lucky’ people have that ‘premonition’ sense that allows them to avoid certain accidents. We all know that twins have been known to feel things sympathetically while many miles apart, on some occasions, so not everything can be explained by logic, common sense or physics!


Animals and their life-spans:
Evidence shows that small and/or short-lived animals perceive time differently from their long-lived counterparts.


A Mayfly has to live its whole life in a day, so all its actions are dictated by this time constraint. At the other end of the scale is the Greenland shark, which can live up to 500 years, about as long as the Ocean Quahog edible clam, while the deep-sea sponge can live up to 1000 years!

The so-called 'immortal' jellyfish, or Turritopsis dohrnii, can somehow reprogramme the identity of its cells, returning them to an earlier stage of life.

Biblical ages:
It is said that Methuselah lived to the ripe old age of 969 years, and Noah (according to Genesis 9:28-29) was about 600 years old when he built the Ark, and lived another 350 years beyond that! (I think I’d have had to live that long if it was flat-packed – sorry IKEA!)

Explanations include that ages were counted in Lunar months, making it difficult to reconcile this with David's age, which was reported in Genesis to be about 70 when he died. That would mean he died when he was about 6 years old!


I must admit, exaggerations are not unique to our times – we now know that some people in power only exaggerate when they open their mouths! It would be nice, though, to live to such an age, even though the song, ‘It Aint Necessarily So’ from Porgy and Bess includes the lines about Methuselah:


Our concept of time:
Scientists have found that the Universe was formed 13.7 billion years ago, and the Earth has only been around for a little over 4.5 billion years. Early forms of homo sapiens showed up about 300,000 years ago, but the ‘modern’ form of Man began about 160,000 years ago. Therefore, we haven’t been around for very long in the broader scheme of things.

We sometimes think a year is a long time, but compared with the age of the Universe, it’s ridiculously small. Our ‘conception’ of time is dependent upon the sorts of lives we have to live, and like the Mayfly who has 24 hours to fulfil his or her life-long obligations, we have to live all our lives in around 80 years (if we’re lucky). Who’s to say that our ‘year’ is but a blip in the lifecycle of one of those deep-sea creatures?


Returning to my supposed ‘glimpse’ into the future of about one second, it could be quite conceivable that another species could easily have a far more detailed ‘glimpse’ of their future – it’s all a matter of concept.

IF we ever try to travel to distant worlds, our bodies will probably be put into cryogenic suspension, and the 10 light-year distance (say) to Earth II would pass in a few hours. It would be a one-way trip, though, and I think I’d rather sit in my office and glance at the electric clock behind me and wonder why the second hand appears to be stopped – but only for a second!

From the Editor:
Time is one of those things we all think we understand until it catches us off guard. In this week’s reflection, Dr. Al explores those curious moments when our perception of time seems to falter, from clocks that appear to pause to dreams that anticipate a sound before it happens.

It’s a fascinating mix of personal observation, science, and a touch of mystery — spanning mayflies that live for a single day, deep-sea creatures that can last for centuries, and the oddities of how our brains process the world around us.

Have you ever experienced time ‘slowing down’ or a strange feeling of knowing something just before it happened? Share your story in the comments below!


Love Alan’s writing and want to read more? You might also like to read:
The Twang’s the Thang!
Being Lucky
Are We All Liars?
The Coo of the Doves, The Hiss of the Guzunder
‘Till Death Us Do Part
Living in Retirement
Alan G.’s Member Spotlight: ‘Almost Famous’
The Ice Cream Job: The Tech Guy – Dr Al
The Lucky Man: The Tech Guy – Dr Al
‘Ten Pound Pom’ Hostel Living: The Tech Guy – Dr Al
Becoming a Better Driver by Accident!
Tech Talk with Dr Al: Accessibility Aids for the Home
Flying Round the World: The Tech Guy – Dr Al
Many Happy Returns of the Day!
Reaching for the Stars!
My great-grandfather’s journal of 1908: The Tech Guy – Dr Al
Pocket Money
University Days
Nasty Words and Silly Gestures
Up-Sticks and Move Interstate!