Texto para a pergunta.
THE PERCEPTION OF TIME
1 A number of competing ideas explain why, as we age, our perception of time accelerates. One theory notes that our metabolism slows as we get
older, matching the slowing of our heartbeats and our breathing. Just as with a stopwatch [cronômetro] that is set to run fast, children’s versions of these
“biological clocks” tick more quickly. In a fixed period of time children experience more beats of these biological pacemakers [marca-passos] (breaths or
heartbeats, for example), making them feel as if a longer time has elapsed.
2 A competing theory suggests that our perception of time’s passage depends on the amount of new perceptual information we are subjected to from
our environment. The more novel stimuli, the longer our brains take to process the information. The corresponding period of time seems, at least ∈
retrospect, to last longer. This argument can explain the movie-like perception of events playing out ∈ slow motion ∈ the moments immediately
preceding an accident. It might be that rather than time actually slowing during the event, our recollection of the event is decelerated ∈ hindsight
[compreensão tardia], as our brain records more detailed memories based on the flood of data it receives. Experiments on subjects experiencing the
unfamiliar sensation of free fall [queda livre] have demonstrated this.
3 This theory ties ∈ nicely with the acceleration of perceived time. As we age, we tend to become more familiar with our environments and with life
experiences. Our daily commutes [deslocamentos de ida e volta entre a casa e o lugar de trabalho], which might initially have appeared long and
challenging, full of new sights and opportunities for wrong turns, now flash by as we navigate familiar routes on autopilot.
4 It is different for children. Their worlds are often surprising places filled with unfamiliar experiences. Youngsters are constantly reconfiguring their
models of the world around them, which takes mental effort and seems to make the sand run more slowly through their hourglasses [ampulhetas] than
for routine-bound [amarrados à rotina] adults. The greater our acquaintance with the routines of everyday life, the quicker we perceive time to pass, and
generally, as we age, this familiarity increases. This theory suggests that, to make our time last longer, we should fill our lives with new and varied
experiences, eschewing [evitando] the time-sapping [consumidora de tempo] routine of the mundane.
5 Neither idea explains the almost perfectly regular rate at which our perception of time seems to accelerate. The fact that the length of a fixed period
of time appears to reduce continually as we age suggests an “exponential scale” to time. We employ exponential scales instead of traditional linear
scales when measuring quantities that vary over a huge range of different values.
Adapted from Natural History, February 2020.
Which of the following is most supported by a theory mentioned ∈ the article?
