zengiraffe
Student
- Feb 29, 2024
- 105
Have you ever noticed that when you're doing something you enjoy, like watching your favorite TV show, time moves by very quickly, but when you're doing something you don't enjoy, like standing in line at the DMV, time moves by very slowly? Our perception of time seems to be strongly tied to our mood and wellbeing. The more pleasure we feel the faster time passes, and the more pain we feel the slower time passes.
For me personally, this is a strong argument for suicide: the bad will always outweigh the good, simply due to the fact that any good we experience will be experienced in fast-forward, while any bad we experience will be experienced in slow-mo. Some people, when they're on their death beds, will say "Life is short." That's not entirely true. A good life is short, due to how our brains work. A miserable life, on the other hand, will feel incredibly long. In fact, if you wanted to increase your longevity, don't bother with diet or exercise, just sit in a blank white room and do nothing for decades. You'll feel every agonizing second. Just doing this for a year will feel like an eternity.
This is the irony of living for good experiences. People want to live a long life so they can have as many good experiences as possible, but each good experience just brings them to death more quickly. Every time we're happy our brain has its metaphorical thumb down on the fast-forward button of our time perception. Good experiences shorten our self-perceived lifespan. A happy 80-year-old who dies may felt like their life passed in only 20 years. A miserable 20-year-old who dies may felt like their life took 80 years to pass.
For me personally, this is a strong argument for suicide: the bad will always outweigh the good, simply due to the fact that any good we experience will be experienced in fast-forward, while any bad we experience will be experienced in slow-mo. Some people, when they're on their death beds, will say "Life is short." That's not entirely true. A good life is short, due to how our brains work. A miserable life, on the other hand, will feel incredibly long. In fact, if you wanted to increase your longevity, don't bother with diet or exercise, just sit in a blank white room and do nothing for decades. You'll feel every agonizing second. Just doing this for a year will feel like an eternity.
This is the irony of living for good experiences. People want to live a long life so they can have as many good experiences as possible, but each good experience just brings them to death more quickly. Every time we're happy our brain has its metaphorical thumb down on the fast-forward button of our time perception. Good experiences shorten our self-perceived lifespan. A happy 80-year-old who dies may felt like their life passed in only 20 years. A miserable 20-year-old who dies may felt like their life took 80 years to pass.
