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Top-level
I reckon we think '2000 was 10 years ago' because we logically know it was a long time ago, and, as we think in base 10, 'ten years' is an easy subconscious shorthand for 'a while ago, but within memory' A weird amalgamation of our instinctive and logical thinking processes, but then so many things are. /4 4 comments
Basically, your brain's memory system may be saying "What's happened since 2016... WOAH! That's a LOT. That must have occurred over a really long period, because that's how things work!" I mean, it's *wrong*, but you can see the reasoning. /6 Contrast that with how most people can barely remember the COVID pandemic. The most significant, anxiety-inducing event of the modern era, that lasted nearly 2 years? And people *don't remember it*? How does that make sense? But it does, actually. /7 Basically, while the pandemic was *objectively* very significant, it was *subjectively* very dull. Same routine, same place, no standalone external events, for months on end? Our brains lacked significant experiences to commit to memory, and thus log the passage of time. /8 |
Gregory's Server
This "memory measured by significant events" system could also explain why 2016 can feel so *longer* ago, despite being relatively recent.
There were MANY of significant events in 2016. But our experience suggests that such events are typically spread over longer periods
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