Time Warped Book Summary - Time Warped Book explained in key points

Listen to the Intro

00:00

Time Warped summary

Name: Time Warped
Author: Claudia Hammond

Claudia Hammond

Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception

(8 ratings)

21 mins

Table of Contents

Time Warped
summarized in 12 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 12

What’s in it for me? Discover how to gain control over your perception of time.

The mystery of how we perceive time is certainly an enduring one. Why is it that time often feels like it’s dragging on endlessly, while at other times it appears to zip by?

Drawing on a wealth of examples and an abundance of contemporary research in neuroscience, biology and psychology, the award-winning author and broadcaster Claudia Hammond confronts the mystery of what she calls “time warps.”

Along the way, Hammond explains why time feels as though it speeds up as we get older, why it slows down when we pay close attention to something, and why different people can have vastly different perceptions of the passage of time.

Additionally, Time Warped is a trove of advice about using time more effectively, and – most importantly – using time warps to your own advantage, speeding up or slowing down your life at will.

In these blinks, you’ll discover:

Why we tend to believe that important events happened more recently than they actually did.
Why we have more vivid memories of events occurring when we were aged 15–25 than at any other period.
Why a man who decided to live alone underground for two months believed he still had almost a month left to go when his friends collected him.

Whether you simply want the time you spend waiting in line at the post office to zip by, or you’re looking to create a rich, long life to look back on, these blinks will show you the way.

Although time runs at a constant speed, our perception of it is affected by different factors.

Have you ever wondered why time seems to drag on endlessly one day, while the next day it appears to fly by?

What's behind this strange phenomenon?

In short, our perception: While the flow of time itself doesn’t vary, our perception of it does.

So what factors influence this perception?

Firstly, our emotions. For example, when we’re afraid, we process all sense data – what we see, hear, smell, taste and feel – more thoroughly. When we process more information in a given period of time than usual, time seems to slow down.

This phenomenon was tested by neuroscientist David Eagleman, who intentionally terrified his (willing) participants by throwing them off a skyscraper roof (don’t worry, they were wearing safety harnesses). The participants' fear caused their brains to process information in far greater detail, and consequently, time seemed to decelerate.

The second factor in “time warping” is memory: the more memories we make, the more slowly time seems to pass. Furthermore, if we're experiencing a lot of stress, our senses are heightened, so we tend to make more memories.

For example, imagine that you despise public speaking yet you're obligated to give a five-minute presentation. When you're finally up on that stage, you'll probably feel highly stressed. That stress will cause you to “record” the event in great detail, making a lot of memories – e.g., of the faces of the people in the front row.

The result? Those five minutes will seem like an eternity.

Finally, even something as mundane as body temperature can affect our time perception.

Take psychologist Hudson Hoagland’s wife, who was bedridden with flu. Hoagland nursed his wife attentively, and didn't leave her alone for longer than a few minutes at any one time. Nevertheless, she complained that he was gone for much longer periods.

Curious about her apparently warped sense of time, Hoagland performed an experiment which demonstrated that the higher his wife's fever, the more quickly a minute seemed to pass for her.

Time is shared between people and based on social rules.

If you've ever taken a vacation in a warm, southern country, you might've observed that its inhabitants have a completely different idea of punctuality. While most people in the northern hemisphere set an acceptable limit for lateness of, say, five minutes, elsewhere it is not uncommon for people to turn up a whole two hours late.

This is because every society has its own rules and conventions concerning time, which its members share and understand.

Our perception of the past is affected by the magnitude of events and the age at which we experienced them.

In which year did Michael Jackson die? It must’ve been ages ago, right?

You might be surprised to learn that it was as recent as 2009.

We each have an inner clock that controls our bodily functions but runs for longer than 24 hours.

Have you ever wondered why you get hungry at certain points of each day? Or why we tend to get tired around the same time each evening?

This is the work of an inner biological clock that times all of our bodily functions.

Your perception of time depends on your mind and body working together.

As you've learned, your brain influences your bodily functions and your perception of time. But how exactly does the brain do this?

Firstly, the brain's frontal lobe is responsible for our perception of the passage of time, as well as the creation and storage of memories and the development of ideas.

The more attention we pay toward something, the slower time will feel.

Imagine that you're sitting in a lecture, bored out of your mind. As hard as you try, you find it difficult to keep your eyes off the clock as the seconds tick away.

If you glance up at this clock at just the right moment, the second hand seems to rest longer than you expect – so much longer, in fact, that you wonder whether the clock has stopped. Of course, an instant later, the hand moves.

We all represent the passage of time to ourselves in one way or another, and some people do it visually.

When you think about last week, do you imagine time laid out in front of you, from left to right?

Many people – approximately 20 percent, in fact, tend to “see” time in this way.

Our ability to consider the future is an advantage that distinguishes us from other animals.

Think ahead to next winter, and imagine yourself sitting on the couch, wrapped snugly in a blanket and reading a gripping novel.

Can you feel the soft blanket around you? Perhaps you can even smell the freshly baked Christmas cookies.

Memories are made of flexible fragments which we can use to create new ones.

Have you ever been telling a story that you're convinced is from your own life, only to have a friend interrupt to complain that you're recounting their experience, not yours?

Why does this happen?

You can make your life seem longer by making every day special, or you can even make time speed up.

You've probably noticed how time flies when you're doing something enjoyable – like watching your favorite TV show – and how time drags endlessly when you're bored.

But have you noticed that longer periods of time, such as the passage of a year, are also subject to the time-warp effect?

If you feel that there aren’t enough hours in the day, you're probably not using them efficiently.

Imagine a very busy day: you're rushing to meet several deadlines, you have a lunch date you can't cancel, and your phone just won't stop ringing.

On days like this we tend to feel that if there were just a few more hours in the day we'd complete all our tasks with time to spare.

Remembering the dates of past events isn’t easy, but certain tricks can help you.

Often when we look back on our past, the events seem to blur together and their order becomes difficult to pin down.

What year did the recent London bombings take place? When did Princess Diana die?

Want to see all full key ideas from Time Warped?

Key ideas in Time Warped

More knowledge in less time

Read or listen

Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.

Find your next read

Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.

Shortcasts ^New

We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

What is Time Warped about?

Time Warped (2012) is about that enduring mystery: our perception of time. Using research from the fields of neuroscience, biology and psychology, Claudia Hammond investigates the many reasons why, on one day, time appears to pass rapidly, while on another, it seems to grind to a halt. In addition, Time Warped suggests ways in which we can control our individual experience of time.

Best quote from Time Warped

Time dictates the pattern of our lives – when we work, when we eat, even when we choose to celebrate.

—Claudia Hammond

Who should read Time Warped?

Anyone who thinks they have no time
Anyone who feels that time moves more quickly nowadays
Anyone who can’t remember the year Michael Jackson or Princess Diana died

About the Author

Claudia Hammond is an author, lecturer and broadcaster for the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4. She has won many awards for her work in representing science in the mainstream media. Hammond’s previous book was Emotional Rollercoaster: A Journey Through The Science Of Feelings, published in 2005.

Categories with Time Warped

Psychology Science

Books like Time Warped

The 80/20 Principle

Richard Koch

The Secret to Achieving More with Less

18 min

4.4

Time and How to Spend It

James Wallman

The 7 Rules for Richer, Happier Days

24 min

4.3

How Big Things Get Done

Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner

The Surprising Factors Behind Every Successful Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration

Lose up to a Pound a Day, Reclaim Energy and Focus, Upgrade Your Life

21 min

4.4

Baby Steps Millionaires

Dave Ramsey

How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth-and how You Can Too

15 min

3.9

DIRTY LAUNDRY

Richard Pink & Roxanne Emery

Why adults with ADHD are so ashamed and what we can do to help

Short Life Advice from the Best in the World

18 min

4.2

Let That Sh*t Go

Nina Purewal and Kate Petriw

Find Peace of Mind and Happiness in Your Everyday

How to Kill Email Anxiety, Avoid Distractions, and Get Real Work Done

The Science and Art of Longevity

20 min

4.4

The Power of No

James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher

Because One Little Word Can Bring Health, Happiness and Abundance

11 min

4.2

How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less

Nicholas Boothman

Make Instant, Meaningful Connections for Interviewing, Selling, Managing, Pitching

The Hidden Determinants of Human Behaviour

18 min

4.2

Reinventing Your Life

Jeffrey E. Young and Janet S. Klosko

The Breakthrough Program to End Negative Behaviour...and Feel Great Again

17 min

4.3

Make Time

Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky

How to Focus on What Matters Every Day

The Hidden Driver of Excellence

How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life

19 min

4.2

The Argument Hangover

Jocelyn Freeman and Aaron Freeman

Empowering Couples to Fight Smarter and Overcome Communication Pitfalls

17 min

4.6

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Marie Kondo

The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

Time Management for Mortals

Science-Based Strategies to Harness Your Best Time and Get Your Most Important Work Done

11 min

4.2

What Happened to You?

Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey

Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

A #1 Bestselling Psychological Thriller With Bone-Chilling Twists

20 min

4.0

Minimalism

Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus

Live a Meaningful Life

It's Time to Cheer for Yourself

The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting

How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It

17 min

4.3

How to Read a Book

Mortimer J. Adler and Charles van Doren

The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading

15 min

4.0

Broadcasting Happiness

Michelle Gielan

The Science of Igniting and Sustaining Positive Change

Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, and Get Stuff Done

How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness, and Well-Being

19 min

4.4

8 Secrets to Powerful Manifesting

Mandy Morris

How to Create the Reality of Your Dreams

The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam

27 min

4.3

Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess

Caroline Leaf

5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking

How Not to Liberate the World

13 min

4.1

Communicate to Influence

Ben Decker & Kelly Decker

How to Inspire Your Audience to Action

23 min

4.2

The Mastery of Love

Don Miguel Ruiz with Janet Mills

A Practical Guide to the Art of Relationship

A New Science of Consciousness

25 min

4.2

Better Living Through Criticism

A.O. Scott

How to Think About Art, Pleasure, Beauty and Truth

16 min

3.6

What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School

Mark H. McCormack

Notes From a Street-Smart Executive

Know thyself, then go out and conquer the world!

Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

The Rise and Fall of Information Empires

15 min

4.4

Love More, Fight Less

Gina Senarighi

Communication Skills Every Couple Needs

Taoist Philosophy for Peace, Contentment & Balance in Life

16 min

4.3

Employee to Entrepreneur

Steve Glaveski

How to Earn Your Freedom and Do Work that Matters

The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked

Toxic Coworkers and What to Do About Them

21 min

4.1

People ❤️ Blinkist

Sven O.

It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

Thi Viet Quynh N.

Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

Jonathan A.

Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

Renee D.

Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.