The Speed of...Whatever You Think It Is

I was running down Sheridan Road the other day, going very speedy-fast, if I do say so myself. And then along came this chick who, I swear, looked like she was practically walking or maybe even jogging backwards in slow motion.

Two seconds later, she passed me.

So was she running a lot faster than I thought? Or was I running a lot slower? Or does the answer lie somewhere between the two?

Another time, I was in my guitar lesson, playing to a metronome. At the chorus, the thing seemed to speed up. At the bridge, it seemed to slow down. By definition, a metronome always keeps a steady tempo. So what was going on in my brain to make it seem like a Nascar racer one second and a Granny going 40mph in a 55mph zone the next?

Ever heard someone say "The day flew by" or "I thought that day would never end?" Same idea. Both indisputably have the exact same number of hours, minutes, seconds. And both feel indescribably different.

In the case of perceptions, it seems clear there is no right or wrong, black or white. How one person experiences something can be worlds away from how another does. Take a recent parting of ways I had with a business associate I really, really like. Based on numerous delayed and sometimes altogether unanswered emails, frequently rescheduled conference calls, and a promised two-week response time that without explanation turned into two months and then well into three with no end in sight, my perception was this person did not value me as a client. Theirs was, I'm just a little behind on things. I didn't mean to give the impression you weren't important to me.

Exact same situation. Wildly different takes on it.

I guess in cases like this, I have to agree with Dave Mason: There ain't no good guy. There ain't no bad guy. There's only you and me and we just disagree.

Comments

[Erica Orloff]

Einstein says time is relative.

:-)

And Dave Mason was genius.

Cheers,
E

[julie]

odd...george could totally relate to this entry...dave mason being his boy and all...parting is such sweet sorrow. j