You vs Time

So, how much time do you have? I mean, seriously, what's the longest a person can ever be? Well, Jeanne Calment holds the world record for the longest living person. She made it to a ripe old age of 122. Can you believe that? Right now, there are only 37 people still alive who were born back in the 1800's. Yeah, you heard me right, the 1800's! These folks have lived through three different centuries. But hey, with all the advancements in medical knowledge and biology, people are living longer these days. Like, way longer. Scientists even think that the first person to hit the age of 150 has already been born. Crazy, right? Who knows, it could be you or me. But honestly, if you do the math, it's more likely to be some lucky soul born just last year.

So, here's the thing. As we get older, the chances of us dying go up. But, get this, there are some animals out there that are basically immortal. I mean, they don't actually age! It's called negligible senescence, or biological immortality. Crazy, right? Take the Hydra, for example. These creatures can only kick the bucket if something bad happens, like an accident, disease, or a predator. And get this, there's this tree called the Methuselah Tree, which is the oldest living tree ever. It's been around for over 4,600 years! Insane. They won't tell us exactly where it is, though, because they don't want people messing with it. But trust me, it's out there somewhere in a forest.

Organisms can live even longer if you count clonal colonies. Take Quaking Pines, for example. They may look like separate trees, but they're actually all clones of one genetic code. They have the same root system, which keeps producing more trees. So all those trees are part of the same organism. Experts estimate that there's a male Quaking Pine that's been around for at least 80,000 years, based on the root system. Pretty impressive, huh?

Let's talk about how time feels instead of how it actually is. Intense moments in life seem to last longer than dull ones. Psychologists say this is because our brains create stronger memories of novel or intense events. It's not that we remember more details, but rather that we make more copies of the memory. When we're stressed, the amygdala gets involved and helps us remember even more. That's why intense moments feel like they last longer.

It's crazy to think about this on a big scale. When you're one year old, that year is your whole life. But as you get older, each year becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of your life. By the time you're 80, one year is just 1/80th of your life. And that might explain why childhood feels so long, but as you age, the years seem to go by in a flash. When you're young, everything is new and exciting. You learn to talk, you see your mom for the first time, you take your first steps, you have your first kiss. Your brain holds onto these memories, so it feels like they took forever. Now, here's the mind-blowing part.

Imagine a graph showing the percentage of each year in your life. The first year is 100%, the second year is 50%, and it keeps decreasing until it reaches 80. So, when you're 80 and you look back, the midpoint feels like your early 20s. The good news is that the more new things you do, the slower time feels and the richer your life becomes. So, go out and do something cool, something weird, something new!