As someone who's in his fifties, I can say that while this is an entertaining concept, it doesn't really map correctly. At least not for me.
The passing of time has always seemed to me to be more of a function of memory.
When I was younger, my memory was _much_ better. And much more vivid. It was in HD. I noticed by the time I was in high school that not only was my memory worse, but that it was of much lower quality. Interestingly enough, though, I noticed that early memories, while less vivid than I remembered them, were often still more vivid than more recent memories. By the time I was in my 30s, things were much worse. My doctor assured me that this was normal, and by the way, expect it to get worse still.
My father, who is now 96, can remember things vividly from 80 years ago and more, but can't remember what town he is living in at the moment. He can remember chemistry and physics he learned long ago, but now he has trouble working the new flat panel TV we bought him. (This is only partly the fault of age, the UI experience on the TV is worse than abominable. Steve Jobs would puke.) This is interesting, because he _built_ the first radio that he ever owned, back in the 1920s.
The most heart breaking thing recently, is that my mother passed away a few months ago. She'd been with him constantly for the last 65 years or so. And he keeps looking around for her, and then after a moment remembers she's gone. He often doesn't remember the event, but it is still fresh as a state of being, even after several months.
So for my father time's passage seems instantaneous and never changing.
Duration is yet another issue.
Current time, you know, right now, passes for me at more or less the same rate. It's much more effected by things like boredom and engagement than anything else. If I'm waiting on something, things can take forever. If I'm doing something, it can go by in a flash.
I wonder if the memory effect is related to emotional state - strong emotions result in stronger memory formation (I think I read this as a research finding as well). Strong emotions, in turn, are caused by new, challenging, and meaningful experiences. As we get older, our emotions tend to level out as we sort of "find ourselves" and settle into a routine. Break the routine, and memory formation snaps back to what it was in childhood.
Personally, I haven't noticed the same effect as you. I'm in my early 30s. I remember watching Perseids last Tuesday with a date much more vividly than watching them last Saturday with my friends. I remember my spring semester junior year of college (spent abroad in New Zealand) much more vividly than fall semester (spent in the same dorm that I lived for sophomore year). I remember 2009 (moved out to California, started working for Google) much more vividly than 2006 (lived at home and worked for the same company as in 2005). I remember Oct-Nov 2009 (spent on leave at home as my dad was dying in the hospital) much more vividly than Jul-Sept 2009 (settling in, nothing in particular happened).
This is where certain memories are best recalled (or can only be recalled) when one is in the same emotional state as when the memories were created. And I don't think there's any question that events that occur when emotions are stored the most strongly; that's basically half of what emotions are for.
It's difficult to say exactly how the density of memory is linked with perception of time. I would posit though that experiencing a variety of strong emotions on a regular basis is important for maintaining both good mental health and a well-functioning brain.
In your first point, you're thinking of what Psychologists refer to as "Flashbulb Memories" [1]. In general, research has found that people despite being very vivid memories with a very strong confidence from the memory-owner, there is no evidence that they are more accurate than any other memory.
However, with regards to the discussion, it is clear that the perception of stronger memory formation is definitely linked to emotion or emotional arousal. And really an individual's perception is an adequate flag for me. I might reframe the passing of time being tied to a root cause of emotion/emotional arousal.
I believe the reason is whenever you remember something specific, the neurological pathway to that piece of information gets stronger. For example I was taught parts of the Quran between the ages of 8-14. I still know the verses because I use them daily (22-16 years later). The pathways are strong.
It may also simply be that your brain learned to simply retain what seems important at one stage and disregard everything that looks alike. Example: in your eighties you can easily remember the time you had your first kiss if you only kissed 3 guys/gals in your lifetime, but if you kissed every last person at the party every Saturday night, then you probably will forget.
The passing of time has always seemed to me to be more of a function of memory.
When I was younger, my memory was _much_ better. And much more vivid. It was in HD. I noticed by the time I was in high school that not only was my memory worse, but that it was of much lower quality. Interestingly enough, though, I noticed that early memories, while less vivid than I remembered them, were often still more vivid than more recent memories. By the time I was in my 30s, things were much worse. My doctor assured me that this was normal, and by the way, expect it to get worse still.
My father, who is now 96, can remember things vividly from 80 years ago and more, but can't remember what town he is living in at the moment. He can remember chemistry and physics he learned long ago, but now he has trouble working the new flat panel TV we bought him. (This is only partly the fault of age, the UI experience on the TV is worse than abominable. Steve Jobs would puke.) This is interesting, because he _built_ the first radio that he ever owned, back in the 1920s.
The most heart breaking thing recently, is that my mother passed away a few months ago. She'd been with him constantly for the last 65 years or so. And he keeps looking around for her, and then after a moment remembers she's gone. He often doesn't remember the event, but it is still fresh as a state of being, even after several months.
So for my father time's passage seems instantaneous and never changing.
Duration is yet another issue.
Current time, you know, right now, passes for me at more or less the same rate. It's much more effected by things like boredom and engagement than anything else. If I'm waiting on something, things can take forever. If I'm doing something, it can go by in a flash.