The Science of Time

Guest: Claudia Hammond
In our hectic lives it’s easy to feel short on time.  Time may keep to the clock but how we experience it varies dramatically. Terrifying or tragic events can feel endless while good times seem to fly by (this is also known as the “Holiday Paradox”).  In her book Time Warped: Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception, BBC journalist and psychology lecturer CLAUDIA HAMMOND explores the science of time and why something so constant can feel so flexible. She interviews a base-jumper whose hang glider fails as he’s plummeting toward Earth, a journalist held hostage for four months who feels “adrift from time,” and a scientist who lives in a cave for two months all in order to understand how the brain senses the passage of time.