When we say that we perceive an interval of time as being ‘short’ or ‘long’, what do we mean to describe? It cannot be the past because it has ceased to be, and what does not exist cannot have any properties, such as short or long. Nor can it be present because it has no duration. According to St. Augustine, when we measure the duration of an event or of an interval of time, we arrive at the conclusion that both, the past and the future, exist solely within our mind, thereby preserving the perception of temporal duration in our memory.
Many of us consider time to be constant, but it is more elastic than we think. Norman Bradburn argues that time is something different from events, and that we do not perceive ‘time’ as such, but rather changes or events in time. He further asserts that our perception of time is not fixed but rather elastic, and the mechanism by which we generate this elasticity is our memory.
It is not that we perceive that time is accelerating, but rather that our postmodern skiing pace is accelerated. Today’s pace of skiing, in general, has accelerated, which makes things from the past appear slower. Bradburn proposes that we use the clarity of memory as a guide to its recency, that is, when we store only the end of our skiing experiences in our memory. If a skiing memory does not seem clear, we assume that more time has passed.
Memory and identity are closely intertwined. During the initial stages of establishing our identity as skiers, our memory recalls particularly vivid details that can later be utilized to reinforce that identity. The reason we remember our skiing beginnings better is because we experienced more new experiences. The impact of novelty on our memory is significant, leading to a better recall of early skiing times. Experiences such as descending slopes in a ski resort for the first time are more easily remembered.
A pleasant vacation in the snow is remembered as a novel experience and is thus easily evoked. Claudia Hammond speaks of the holiday paradox, where the concentration of new experiences contrasts with our daily routine. In it, time passes at a normal speed, as we have an almost stable reference of starting work every Monday, finishing it on Fridays, and having weekends off. However, when we are on vacation, the stimulating experiences we encounter instill a sense of novelty, causing our perception of time to deteriorate and become accelerated.
We argue that when our skiing is intense, we perceive that time passes faster and, conversely, when skiing is slow, that it is almost non-existent.
The following are examples of how we experience time when skiing according to our attitudes, which may vary from one skier to another or from one moment to another. As children, we have an attitude oriented toward the present and something with potential (the future). As adolescents, we are immersed, especially in the present, some in the past, and some in potential. As adults, we have something in the present, a lot in the past, and a little potential.
If we are discouraged, we emphasize mostly the past, little present, and almost no potential. However, if we are self-actualized, our attitude is practically all potential, some present, and a little past.
