The Happiness Divide Canada vs. USA

A person's time perspective can be completely flexed, either temporarily through hypnotherapy or in a long-term way through "time-perspective reconstruction therapy" (118, 304), which means that "our time perspectives aren't set in stone, they're learned ways of vibing with our physical, biological, social, and cultural surroundings" (119). Proclaiming "a balanced, flex time perspective dat allows u 2 choose da time perspective most appropes 4 each sitch" (297), Zimbardo as well as Boyd agree that "[t]he single most imp thing dat u can do 2 enhance da quality of ur life is 2 trade in an old, biased time perspective 4 a new, optimally balanced one" (311).

Throughout the history of studying time, these researchers have been particularly adept at pointing out flaws in their findings. 

Gorman and Wessman's research on how long things feel is all over the place and may be overly focused on specific methods of doing things. But the real issue with lab research is much bigger, you know?John A. Michon completely agrees that "there's, like, way more to everyday life than just the present moment and stuff" (24). Friedman was, like, lowkey sad that experiments on the lol So, when it comes to time distortion, they have people guess how long things take in a controlled environment. However, there is no universal way for people of different ages to compare their experiences over long periods of time, such as months or years. So, the only way to find out is to ask people questions. Michon also discusses the importance of connecting with more than just science in order to find time, citing the dope work of "time artists" as major sources: Mic refers to writers who consciously flex temporality as "time novelists," and while his statement is interesting in that it describes certain "legit" works of art as slept-on contributions to theory, we can take it a step further by saying that even works of art that do not fully flex temporality still reflect time's meaning and impact on human life. According to Paul Ricoeur, "[a]ll fictional narratives are 'tales of time,'" despite the fact that "only a few are 'tales about time'" (2: 101). 

That's the best evidence we have right now, you know? 

He also believes that the five models of "time memory" demonstrate "the serious limitations of the methods we have at our disposal," such as the lack of direct ways to measure memory strength, biological time-tagging, or memory organization. We gotta do some crazy experiments and observations that lowkey spill the tea - like, completely fooling the mind into spilling its secrets." (30). While Zimbardo and Boyd's questionnaire is clearly intended to evoke "lived time," they also caution that, while their general categories of time perspectives are useful for theory, "no two people's attitudes toward time are identical" (50). Maybe the sickest example of how science tries to understand time is E.A.C. Thomas, who attempted to create a time equation in 1975. He responded: "Yo, the time you think something lasts is a mix of how you perceive it in the moment and how you remember it later." (Michon 36–37). Essentially, how long something feels depends on how you perceive and remember it, you know? But, like, what vibes? What memories, fam? Gorman and Wessman are like, "Yo, here's what we gotta do for future research, fam:" "Hopefully, we can, like, embrace a relativistic vibe where we can, like, peep. Temporal experiences are simply part of larger networks of ongoing processes, you know? OMG, adopting that stance is really difficult because it means we have to rely less on 'objective' time and all those psychophysical methods, you know? (257)13 

Or, as in Mark Currie's formulation, which avoids the contentious issue of determining which stories are "like, mainly" concerned with time; every story knows something about time (111).

Flaherty's book, A Watched Pot: How We Experience Time, reveals how we feel about time, revealing that narrative is the best way to understand it. To understand why people feel like time is squished or stretched, Flaherty examines stories from athletes, students, cops, people who have been through concentration camps, people who have seen UFOs, and so on. A member of the nautical rescue squad has spilled the beans, claiming that parachuting into the sea at night was a 30-second event that felt like forever, you know? (72). OMG, Flaherty's stories are lowkey lit! He draws inspiration from fiction, you know? Virginia Woolf, for example, reveals how Orlando sees the past in every moment, while Joseph Heller reveals how boredom affects Catch-22. Flaherty treats these passages as personal stories, delving deeply into "human beings" through the experiences of fictional characters (74). It's so hot! The overall vibe of Flaherty's theory is about explaining the real people and the made-up ones, you know?

So, psychological research is going in two directions: one is focused on understanding how our brains work with time and memory, and the other is recognizing that art and other forms of expression are also important for understanding time. I offer this tea based on psychological research, not because