How do you perceive time?

[Staine]

I watched an interesting video on AsapScience and did not know this was a thing, and because I'm slightly bored at this moment I wanted to see how people here perceive time! Please don't bully people who choose the answer you don't, there is no wrong answer to this even though it will feel inconceivable that anybody could choose a different answer.

So the full question again if you don't like polls is Wednesday's noon meeting has been moved forward by 2 hours. What time is the meeting? The answers are 10:00am or 2:00pm! Make your choice!

 

[Tanakalian]

I had to think about this, and after a little bit of debating in my head, I can sort of understand why you have given 10am as a possible answer. To me it sounds all wrong, because time always goes ahead, it never goes back.

Of course, I have to translate the question first, since English is my third language. Time moving forward in Dutch would mean time further in the future. So from noon it would go two hours further in the future, aka 14.00 (or 2pm as you Americans call it). If an appointment is brought backwards (translated from Dutch) it would be 10.00 (or 10am as you call it).

Hopefully that gives you an insight in the Dutch way of thinking about time.

 

[Revelations]

Hrm. I usually feel 'Noon' is 12-2 or so PM, so this is more or less on the cusp of the noon to me, 3 PM and onwards is afternoon, with evening starting around 6-7 PM I suppose!

 

[ToWriteAndWander]

I disagree. A meeting moved 'forward' is now at an earlier time. A meeting 'pushed back' is now at a later time.

'Lets move forward with the idea' (for context) means going ahead with it, initiating it earlier, so the same concept is applied to the meeting.

 

[Jericho Z. Barrons]

Time moves forward, so, it'd be pushing it later. It is why for Daylight Savings, the saying goes, "Spring Forward - Fall Back."

 

[Emma332]

I would show up at 10 as that has been what people have meant every time it has been used in my life. I've also had people say it has been moved up in reference to being earlier in the day which is probably influenced by vertical schedule layouts.

 

[Staine]

The split isn't as bad as I thought it would be so far, this is why I thought it would be interesting to ask here after watching that video. Those of us that say it would be 2pm have an ego-based perception of time, we see ourselves as moving through through time. Moving towards the next hour, the next day. Those who said 10am have a time based time perception, and see time as moving around them. The next day in that case is moving towards them, not the other way around.

Really enjoying your answers everybody, I should link the video in case you're all curious!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b0Nn9jE5Hc

 

[Staine]

I think it says that you're pretty sensible, I generally hate leaving things up to interpretation because you never know when people will interpret it the exact way you didn't mean it. Of course, I don't always succeed at that in practice.

AsapScience do a lot of cool videos. I've also been watching some maths ones that really highlight how simple it is to misinterpret hard data and numbers based on nuances of language or just a simple misunderstanding that just leave me feeling pretty stupid at the end of them. I do not know why I still watch those things.

 

[Rogue Scribe]

"... full question again if you don't like polls is Wednesday's noon meeting has been moved forward by 2 hours. What time is the meeting? The answers are 10:00am or 2:00pm! Make your choice!"

Forward to me means 'future' so I'd be showing up at the meeting at 2:00PM.
If the meeting was moved 'back' two hours, then I'd show up at 10:00AM
Either way, I'm glad it isn't at 12:00PM because I hate lunch meetings.

 

[Year Zero]

It's annoyingly slightly vague and understandably open to interpretation.
That being said I'd say 10 am. As, as mentioned above, that's how I've seen it used consistently.

The 'fixed point', the occurance in question is the meeting. Moving it forward means it's happening earlier. Moving it back would be delaying it. That runs contrary to how we also describe time. As the 'fixed point' the description relative to the meeting takes precedent.

That being said, I'd expect it to be clarified ('We're moving the meeting forward to 10. am.') to prevent people like me turning up four hours late because we felt like being contrary and had plausible denability.