Do animals of a different size then humans experience time different then us?

[cupoftea]

Okay, this question has been anoying me for some time, but I think it's a good question so:

Title explain's it all, if you don't know what i mean its like this: lets take a mouse for example, it's obviously smaller then us, and has a shorter life expectancy. Does this mean that he experiences time different then us? Does he experiences it faster, slower? Is everything in slowmotion or in ultraspeed?

Any thoughts?

[Nikos]

Well technically time does not exist and is just an artificial construct put in place by humanity.

[Godfrey I of Leuven]

Then how would you explain durations of certain events, intervals between events ? "Time" really exists, it's just the means of measurement that's made up

[Nikos]

Then how would you explain durations of certain events, intervals between events ? "Time" really exists, it's just the means of measurement that's made up

We are the ones who put artificial labels like "duration" on things.

[Godfrey I of Leuven]

Aagh! *runs into wall*

As for the matter: I think time is relative and experienced in the same way by either.

[Copperknickers II]

It has long been suspected, for instance, that birds, who are often seen to have amazingly fast reactions and move with fast twitches, see the world in a 'slow motion', ie to them they move their heads at a normal speed, and in a fast chase with an insect prey they see it at a reasonably moderate pace. The opposite is true for snails, the world flies while they move at a brisk stride.

[CtrlAltDe1337]

Well, seeing as when humans are children the years seem to go by so slowly, I'd say their perception of time is probably different than ours, but I don't know about their actual experience of time. I don't really see how it could be different from a scientific standpoint, as spacetime "moves" (forgive me if I'm using improper terminology, or am plain wrong) at the same speed no matter who you are, AFAIK.

[Nikos]

Well, seeing as when humans are children the years seem to go by so slowly, I'd say their perception of time is probably different than ours, but I don't know about their actual experience of time. I don't really see how it could be different from a scientific standpoint, as spacetime "moves" (forgive me if I'm using improper terminology, or am plain wrong) at the same speed no matter who you are, AFAIK.

Do animals like mice even perceive "time?"

[MaximiIian]

Do animals like mice even perceive "time?"

Duh. If they didn't, they wouldn't move.

[Chlodwig I.]

Well, seeing as when humans are children the years seem to go by so slowly....

Right, thats because of the amount of new things to expirience, while growing old, is getting less with every day.
For children everything is new and they have to learn and expirence a lot every day.
Every day gives them new input, new data of things they never seen/expirienced before.

When grown up, not much new happens each day.
Most time tomorrow will be like yesterday, so you don't notice how the time passes and
you get the feeling that time is going faster.

[Jacket60]

Duh. If they didn't, they wouldn't move.

i think Nikos meant the abstract idea of "time".

[★Bandiera Rossa☭]

Well it is doubtful that a mouse can understand more than sex and food..

[Simetrical]

Okay, this question has been anoying me for some time, but I think it's a good question so:

Title explain's it all, if you don't know what i mean its like this: lets take a mouse for example, it's obviously smaller then us, and has a shorter life expectancy. Does this mean that he experiences time different then us? Does he experiences it faster, slower? Is everything in slowmotion or in ultraspeed?

Any thoughts?

It's not at all clear to me that the question is scientifically meaningful. I don't see any possible way to test it. You can't transform someone into a mouse and then ask him afterwards how it felt.

This is kind of like asking whether different people see colors "differently" in some way, like seeing red as green and vice versa. How would you tell? It's like an automorphism of the person's perception, to use some math terminology. There's not any meaningful difference between the two scenarios, as long as the switch is completely consistent.

Well technically time does not exist and is just an artificial construct put in place by humanity.

Time is an empirically valid concept. If you want to claim all of science is just an artificial construct, that's a philosophical statement, not a scientific one, and so not really on-topic in the science forum. It should probably be assumed that questions asked in the science forum are meant to be answered within the framework of scientific knowledge and assumptions.

It has long been suspected, for instance, that birds, who are often seen to have amazingly fast reactions and move with fast twitches, see the world in a 'slow motion', ie to them they move their heads at a normal speed, and in a fast chase with an insect prey they see it at a reasonably moderate pace. The opposite is true for snails, the world flies while they move at a brisk stride.

Long been suspected by whom?

Do animals like mice even perceive "time?"

Well, they can distinguish things like the sequence of events. That's an empirical fact, I'm sure. I think it would be pretty hard to quantify whether mice can feel time is going "faster" or "slower" than even other mice, let alone humans.

[Wheelchair]

Well it is doubtful that a mouse can understand more than sex and food..

Sounds like me...

[C-Rob]

hmm... in perspective, an inch to a fly is like... our seven feet so I suppose you could argue it woudl be a vastly different exprience to be the size of a fly, or perhaps up to the size of a rabbit, but if it's a different perspective of actual space and time... I dont' want to say yes.

[Helm]

Something like a fly would see a human as being sloooooooow, while to snail we would be flashing around at blurred ultra speed.

[C-Rob]

Something like a fly would see a human as being sloooooooow, while to snail we would be flashing around at blurred ultra speed.

Only when the fly is actually doing its namesake. I think that's really an underestimate and an ignorance of their optical systems to say that they see things differently just because of their movement speed.

[Helm]

Have you ever tried to swat a fly? They're gone long before the rolled up newspaper makes contact with the surface they had been on, to them we would have been standing there with our arm slowly coming down in slow motion.

[C-Rob]

Have you ever tried to swat a fly? They're gone long before the rolled up newspaper makes contact with the surface they had been on, to them we would have been standing there with our arm slowly coming down in slow motion.

they have nearly 360 degree vision. They see it coming. I would be out of the way too if I could see it coming at me. Your arm is flying probably tens of "fly" miles. It's not the perception of time that's different, it's the easiness at which the fly can get away, being very quick but I refuse to believe we appear to be moving slower. Does time slow down for you when you're about to get hit? Okay, an anology. Your arm is a train. Trains don't look like they're going fast, but when they pass, you can tell it's barreling down. it's going 60 miles per hour if you see it or not. When it reaches you, you will be hit by a hundred ton train going sixty miles per hour. Or up to a certain point, you can side step off away from the tracks and avoid it. As does the fly when hit by your arm(if you're that quick.) There is a slight, and very slight, variation of how the train's conductor and you perceive the passage of time, but that is specifically caused by the difference in your velocity, and not size.



at least all that sounded good in my head.

[chamaeleo]

Have you ever tried to swat a fly? They're gone long before the rolled up newspaper makes contact with the surface they had been on, to them we would have been standing there with our arm slowly coming down in slow motion.

Try clapping your hands together, slightly behind the fly. They take off backwards, right between your palms.

Now, go wash your hands...