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The Secret Pulse of Time: Making Sense of Life's Scarcest Commodity

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Have you ever fantasized about having more time-now, this minute, to accomplish everything you need and want to get done today? Or wondered why time flies when you are thoroughly engrossed in something? Or why minutes pass so slowly when you’re standing in line at the store or airport, or on hold waiting for a customer service rep to answer your call? Or how, simply, to find more time to relax and unwind?Now, with The Secret Pulse of Time, already a longstanding best seller in Germany, internationally best-selling and award-winning science writer Stefan Klein has crafted what amounts to “operating instructions” for time. “We are all taking part in a giant experiment in dealing with time,” Klein writes-and his aim with this book is to help us each to understand “the degree to which our experience of time hinges on our outlook on life.” With his journalist’s unerring eye for the telling detail, Stefan Klein effortlessly combines original investigation and reportage, personal revelation, and a wide-ranging, commanding presentation of scientific research among disciplines including brain physiology, social psychology, philosophy, and Einsteinian physics-with the goal of guiding us not only to better master time but also to understand why we so often fail to do so. Woven into his narrative are dozens of practical ways to make sense of and gain control over time, including: How not to lose your head when a deadline is quickly approaching How the present becomes a memory-and vice versa How to attune to your inner clock for more productive, satisfying days How to avoid becoming worn out by the fast tempo of modern life Popular science at its very best, The Secret Pulse of Time awakens us to and empowers us with the idea that time is far more at our disposal than we have ever before realized.

368 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2006

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About the author

Stefan Klein

75 books81 followers
Dr. Stefan Klein, geboren 1965 in München, ist Physiker, Philosoph und der erfolgreichste Wissenschaftsautor deutscher Sprache.

Er studierte Physik und analytische Philosophie in München, Grenoble und Freiburg, promovierte und forschte auf dem Gebiet der theoretischen Biophysik. Er wandte sich dem Schreiben zu, weil er "die Menschen begeistern wollte für eine Wirklichkeit, die aufregender ist als jeder Krimi“.

Sein Buch „Die Glücksformel“ (2002) stand über ein Jahr auf allen deutschen Bestsellerlisten und machte den Autor auch international bekannt. In den folgenden Jahren erschienen die hoch gelobten Bestseller „Alles Zufall“,, „Zeit", "Da Vincis Vermächtnis oder Wie Leonardo die Welt neu erfand", "Der Sinn des Gebens" und zuletzt "Träume". Kleins Werk wurde in 27 Sprachen übersetzt und vielfach ausgezeichnet, zuletzt mit dem Deutschen Lesepreis (2015).

Stefan Klein ist ein viel gefragter Vortragsredner. Für das Zeit-Magazin führt er regelmäßig große Gespräche mit den führenden Wissenschaftlern der Welt. Im Rahmen von Lehraufträgen und Vorlesungen unterrichtete er an den Universitäten Heidelberg, Freiburg, UdK Berlin, Cottbus, St. Gallen, Barcelona und Cambridge.

Klein lebt in Berlin. Er ist mit der Wissenschaftsjournalistin Alexandra Rigos verheiratet und hat drei Kinder.

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5 stars
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235 (41%)
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140 (24%)
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33 (5%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
Profile Image for Cem Binbir.
35 reviews41 followers
July 28, 2016
Zamanı verimli kullanmakla ilgili pratik bilgiler veren hafif bir kitap olacağını zannederken karşımda son derece bilimsel, konuyu kanıtlar ve araştırma sonuçlarıyla destekleyen bir kitap buldum. Bu yanılgı kitabı daha çok beğenmeme yol açtı :)

Zamanı hücre seviyesinde algılayışımızdan, eski hatıraların neden daha detaylı hatırlandığına kadar pek çok konuya değinen bir kitap. İlginç birçok şey öğrendim (hepsini aklımda tutabilmeyi isterdim ama ne mümkün!). Bildiğim bazı şeylere teyit aldım (örn. multi-tasking’in faydasız olması).

Siz de zaman kavramını, hayatımıza etkilerini (ve tabii ki zamanı verimli kullanmak için hayatımızda yapmamız gereken değişiklikleri) merak ediyorsanız kesinlikle tavsiye edeceğim bir kitap.


Kişisel bir not: Birkaç aydır sebebini bilmediğim şekilde siteden ve kitap okumaktan kopmuştum. Özlemişim :) Umarım ikisiyle de arayı kısa zamanda kapatırım.
Profile Image for Taylor Ellwood.
Author 83 books145 followers
March 28, 2013
The Secret Pulse of Time is a very interesting book that looks at time from a number of angles, most notably cultural and neuroscience angles. I found it to be a refreshing read because it didn't focus on the conventional approach, which is usually physics, but actually delved into other disciplines and there take on time. The author also provided some excellent examples to back up what he was discussing. I found some of his thoughts on information overload particularly relevant, especially with the advent of social media. I highly recommend this book.
Profile Image for Lord Humungus.
482 reviews10 followers
July 25, 2011
Thoroughly fascinating book about the brain's perception of time. Each chapter had at least one remarkable factoid, usually several. In fact, there was so much material from so many different disciplines and data sources, it's probably worth reading again just to absorb more. I came away with some solid guidelines for how to better spend your time and live a more fulfilling life. Highly recommended.
Profile Image for Novella Semplici.
401 reviews9 followers
July 23, 2020
Libro interessante che divulga alcuni concetti non molto diffusi sul tempo. La prima parte narra gli esperimenti sulla percezione del tempo fatta dall'uomo, sull'orologio interno, poi prosegue analizzando il tempo prima per la storia e poi secondo la fisica e secondo la teoria della relatività (parte che confesso ho capito, ma dove ho saltato il dettaglio degli esperimenti, difetto mio: appena si parla di fisica e il discorso si fa appena più complicato, il mio cervello si mette a pensare alla cena di stasera e devo convincerlo che invece è importantissimo seguire il discorso). Il riassunto nell'epilogo è un compendio finale molto chiaro. Abbiamo un orologio interno che però non ha nulla a che vedere con minuti e secondi bensì con le necessità del corpo e il ritmo luce-buio; lo stress moderno deriva in buona parte dall'essere costretti per motivi sociali tra cui il lavoro ad avere orari spesso non consoni e problemi logistici in famiglia; allodole e gufi si nasce e non ci si può riprogrammare, conviene quindi imparare a conoscersi e fare le cose importanti nelle ore in cui rendiamo di più; dobbiamo cercare di diminuire questo stress dedicandosi al momento presente e a ciò che ci piace e allo sport, riducendo le ore dedicate al guadagno. Tutte cose ottime e forse in parte realizzabili in un paese scandinavo moderno. In Italia è fantascienza pura e semplice. Buon libro ma mi aspettavo una maggiore trattazione del tempo a livello di storia, mentre il tempo causa-effetto, quello che fugge e non si può fermare, è trattato solo marginalmente. 3/5.
September 23, 2020
The book presents facts about time related to humans by reporting researched findings in easy language, leaving interesting and general insight on notions such as, what were the results when a person tried to live in a cave for months without any natural light, why there are morning and night people, and different perceptions or ways of "seeing" time.

I found Chapter 12 "Masters of Our Time" to be my personal favourite. It serves as a natural continuation in the book even if it doesn't explicitly speak about time itself but more about productivity, like when saying "Having no time" while we are working, why people tend to always finish things at the last possible minute and whether the "rich" people feel that they have more or less time. I personally found very interesting to know about a study showed that increasing time allotted to a specific task did not spur creativity, but quite the contrary.

In the epilogue, I share one of the author's mentions on what a fictional city without time would "look" like, first written by the author Arthur C. Clarke. It tells about the different kind of experiences that we would have, and the ones that would be lost.
Profile Image for Ann-Marie.
65 reviews
May 15, 2010
Contains some interesting theories on how we perceive time, and how that perception can be altered. What are the mechanisms we employ, often subconsciously, to gauge our passage through time?
Reading this has made me more interested in the topic, so I will be searching out more material that goes into a little more depth. This was a good book to start with on the topic.
Profile Image for Tazar Oo.
113 reviews28 followers
January 24, 2024
အတိတ်ကို ပြန်လည်ကြုံတွေ့ခံစားတာဟာ ရောမမြို့ကြီးကို ရှူခင်းကြည့်ထွက်ရတာနဲ့ တူတယ်။ အကြောင်းကတော့ ရောမမြို့က လှည့်လည်ကြည့်ရှုစရာ အဆောက်အဦဟောင်းတွေကို အဲဒီအဆောက်အဦတွေထက် ပိုမိုသက်တမ်းရင့်တဲ့ ကျောက်တုံးတွေနဲ့ တည်ဆောက်ထားခဲ့လို့ပဲ။ ဆိုပါစို့၊ ယခင်ခေတ်က ဗိမာန်တစ်ခုရဲ့ အမိုးကို ထောက်ကန်ပေးထားတဲ့ ထောက်တိုင်တစ်ခုဟာ နောင်ကာလတစ်ခုမှာ ဘုရားကျောင်းတစ်ခုရဲ့ မုဒ်ဦး၀ ဖြစ်လာတယ်။ ကစားကွင်းတစ်ခုရဲ့ အပျက်အစီးအပိုင်းအစတွေဟာ စက်ဝိုင်းခြမ်းသဏ္ဍာန်၊ နာမည်ကျော် ပီယာဇာနာဗိုနာရုပ်တု ဖြစ်လာတယ်။ ဗိုလ်ရှုသဘင်အသေးစားလေးလို့ ဆိုရမယ့်၊ မာဆယ်လိုပြဇာတ်ရုံရဲ့ လှေကားထစ်သဏ္ဍာန် ခုံတန်းလျားတွေဟာ ရိုမန်အင်ပါယာကျဆုံးပြီးနောက်မှာ လူနေအဆောက်အဦတွေအဖြစ် အသွင်ပြောင်းလာတယ်။ ခေတ်ကာလတစ်ခုချင်းစီမှာ သူ့ယခင်အတိတ်ခေတ်က ရှိခဲ့တဲ့ အခြေခံဆောက်လုပ်ရေးပစ္စည်းတွေကို အသုံးပြုပြီး၊ အဆောက်အဦသစ်တွေကို အသွင်ပြောင်း၊ ဖန်တီးခဲ့ကြတယ်။ အဲဒီအဆောက်အဦတွေကိုပဲ နောင်တစ်ချိန်ကာလတစ်ခုမှာ ပြန်လည်ပြုပြင်၊ ဖြိုချပစ်ကြပြန်တယ်။ ဒီလိုပဲ ကျွန်တော်တို့ရဲ့ မှတ်ဉာဏ်လမ်းကြောင်း၊ တစ်နံတစ်လျားကို ပြန်လည်ကြည့်ရှုခံစားတဲ့အခါ ကျွန်တော်တို့ ပြန်လည်မှတ်မိသမျှတွေဟာ ကိုယ်တိုင်ပြန်လည်ထုဆစ် တည်ဆောက်ထားတဲ့ ဗိသုကာလက်ရာတွေသာ ဖြစ်ပါတယ်။
Profile Image for Ugur Serkan Taskin.
23 reviews4 followers
August 28, 2017
Oldukça bilimsel bir dille yazılmış güzel bir kitap. Beynin zamanı nasıl algıladığından, psikoloji, sosyoloji, fizik herşeyi bu kitapta bulabilirsiniz. Bazı bölümleri gerçekten çok detaylı ve zorlayıcı ama zaman konusunda birçok sorunuz net olarak cevaplanıyor. Birçoğumuza göre çağımızın hastalığı (kitaba göre öyle değil ve bunu çok iyi açıklıyor) zamansızlık sorunu ile de pratik öneriler yer alıyor.
Profile Image for Alex.
84 reviews
February 9, 2023
The book gives a good overview of time from the point of view of our everyday life, our sensibilities, as well as the current state of science. Compared to the other books I have read so far by Stefan Klein, which are all on an excellent level, I miss the great new insights in this book and found it boring in places. Perhaps it is just the enormous expectations that I associate with his books.
Profile Image for Pino Sabatelli.
529 reviews63 followers
July 16, 2017
Francamente mi aspettavo un saggio più rigoroso invece di un libro divulgativo che, a tratti, sembra prendere la strada di un manuale di auto-aiuto, con tanto di "sei passi" finali per riuscire a controllare meglio il nostro rapporto con il tempo.
Non aiuta uno stile tendente alla prolissità e, talvolta, francamente ripetitivo.
Profile Image for Sue.
40 reviews1 follower
October 8, 2023
3.75 stars
Discusses ADD and executive functioning in relation to time. Interesting.
Profile Image for Stewart.
319 reviews16 followers
February 8, 2011
Time is an intriguing concept. Yes, it is a concept or a human idea; I am not sure that time has an independent existence outside the minds of sentient beings. Time has no mass, dimension, color, taste, smell, or texture -- yet it permeates our life. We can describe it only indirectly, by metaphor: We can "save" time or "be out of" time, time "marches on" or "time flies." Stefan Klein, a German science writer, has written a rich book on this slippery subject, a welcomed addition to my small library on this subject. I must also praise the translation of Shelley Frisch, who made this book read as if it were written by a science writer for the New York Times or Los Angeles Times rather than the former science editor at Der Spiegel.
Although Klein looks at the scientific aspects of time, such as Einstein's theory that time (or at least the measurement of time) varies with the velocity of the observer, he is more interested in the human subjective experience of time. He writes about "larks" and "night owls," the importance of sunlight in resetting our chronometers every day, how time seems to "fly" sometimes but "crawl" on other occasions, living "in the moment," how memory works, and scheduled life vs. leisure.
One chapter "Seven Years Are Like a Moment" looks at Thomas Mann's 1924 novel "The Magic Mountain," which I consider, among its other attributes, a treatise on time.
The book is not abstract and obtuse. It deals with our everyday lives and contains all manner of insights. To name a few: Klein examines the hectic pace of so many of our lives and concludes most of us want it that way, even if we won't admit that. "A lack of time is therefore considered a sign of status in Western societies. ... Just as some people buy a Porsche to make their success visible, others feel compelled to live in a constant rush to buoy their self-esteem -- and to show the world how important they are."
On why childhood memories stay with us longer than those more recent: "If the memory survives the test of time for the first few years, it is usually indelible, which is why even eighty-year-olds can talk about their youth as though it were yesterday."
On why time seems to go faster as we get older: "The more knowledge of the world we acquire, the fewer new memories are retained in our memory -- it would be a waste of brain capacity to remember slight variations on a familiar theme. But the fewer memories we have retained from a period, the shorter the period seems in retrospect. The ongoing acceleration of years as we grow older is a price we pay for learning."
The more we are aware of time (such as waiting in a doctor's office or, better yet, meditating), the slower time seems to go. But most Americans and Europeans have trouble handling true leisure and thus are unable to slow life's pace. "Many people claim they have no time to be contemplative, but usually it is just the other way around: their days are overscheduled because they have such a difficult time adjusting to time off. Staring into the void is a daunting prospect." Meditating on our lives, examining who we are and why we do what we do could turn up some unwanted truths: we really don't like our job, our marriage is becoming boring, or all the stuff we own is not bringing us happiness. I suspect most people just "don't want to go there."


Profile Image for Ronald Poon.
3 reviews2 followers
April 15, 2020
Time: A User's Guide

書名︰Time: A User's Guide
作者︰ Stefan Klein
出版社︰Penguin (3 April 2008 - Paperback)
ISBN: 0-670-84943-X
(又名︰The Secret Pulse of Time: Making Sense of Life's Scarcest Commodity
August 2006 - Da Capo Lifelong Books [Hardcover])

推薦度:4/5
實用度:3/5
書種︰半心理、半生理、半自救書
建議音樂︰《陪著你走》各版本、陳綺貞《時間的歌》

*緣起*
人比較隨性,對時間的掌握之差,有時教自己也汗顏。
這幾年心裡總有個 **關於記憶** 的迷團︰
細想腦內所記的事,統統是以地方為經緯,毫無難度就可鉅細無遺地在腦海中重現曾到過的地方,但苦苦覓尋倒未能找到一絲半點以時間為線索的畫面,一直百思不得其解。
羡慕人家好像擁有「時光百子櫃」一般,能按時索驥,順著時間日期信手拈來憶記。
在書店遇到此書,翻了翻前言,之前亦翻過作者另一本 “The Science of Happiness” (現在可算是經典之作)。
懷著破解以上迷團的心,把這書當解藥般抱回家。



*讀前自問*
「誰說時間片刻變陳舊 全為我分秒亦停留 因我身邊有你緊握我的手」


時間比空氣更抽象。風起時,還能感到空氣迎面而來;但分秒逝去,卻真沒留痕一絲半點。
讀此書之前,我問了以下幾個問題︰
你有沒有好好想過 「時間」究竟是甚麼?
有沒有想過在時鐘出現之前,時間與人類的關係又是怎樣的?
為甚麼會有「開心嘅時候過得特別快,又係時候講BYE BYE?」這現象?

*內容簡介*
書分三部份︰感知時間、掌握時間和認識時間

【第一部份︰感知時間】
先在這玩一個小實驗,照圖二三的指示去邊看圖邊「盲目」猜估15秒鐘的長度。
你會發現腦袋對時間的感知,並不如鐘錶的機械操作般準繩,受許多外在和內在因素影響。

但同一時間,你又會想起每天你總是在差不多的時間覺得睏和醒來,誤差大概總在15分鐘之內 (通宵熬夜趕工,偶然搞亂的一天半天不算囉﹗) 我們對時段的掌握卻又意外地準確。

=時段 VS 時間=
這就是腦袋對時間的不同感知,腦袋對時段的記憶相對準確是因為腦袋量度時間並非依賴時鐘,而是利用對比相似經驗的記憶。就如每天都經過的紅綠燈,縱使慢了只是丁點的半秒,一般人也能察覺出來一樣。
但當要準確估算時間的長短,我們頂多只能估算到三秒鐘的長度 (以呼吸或脈膊為憑),長至一分鐘的時間,腦袋基本上都是胡猜亂估。

第二部份︰掌握時間
作者以「所有時間管理方法都注定失敗」為開篇論說,並總結出三大「時間殺手」︰缺乏專注力、壓力和惰性。「時間管理學說」並無法針對這三大殺手對症下藥,作者在第二部份分三個專篇去分別解決這三個「殺手」。

第三部份︰認識時間
這部份是硬科學,略述了人類探求時間之路,由愛恩斯坦相對論講到薛定諤的貓 (量子物理)。對於沒甚理科背景的讀者,或許有點摸不著頭腦。

總論
作者回到實用層面,提出六個令生活不致於被急逼的時間壓倒的建議,讓讀者參考以提升「時間的使用技巧」。

*讀後感*
誠於此書的新書名所言 — Time: A User's Guide — 這是一本「時間使用手冊」,嘗試在釐清人們對時間的感知後,切入「如何利用時間」這個問題。
但要強調這並不是一本「時間管理」書籍,若以工具書或自救書 (SELF IMPROVEMENT) 去讀的話會頗為失望。說它是入門版的霍金《時間簡史》加些善用時間的竅門會更為精確一點。


值得一提的是作者的準備功夫做得非常詳盡,書末的注釋佔了全書約七分一篇幅,中間亦有大量非常值得參考的資料可供深入研究。連非常懶惰的我也禁不住要讀完所有注釋,亦參考了中間所引的數份研究報告。

若想從人的角度出發去了解時間,這是一本非常值得推薦的書 (若欲從科學角度探討這課題,則霍金的《時間簡史》更為合適) 。唯一不完美的,就是作者非常「長氣」,但文中所引資料太多,這也是無可厚非的。

*伸延閱讀*
有關記憶的 —— Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
有關腦袋對時間的認知的 —— Permanent Present Tense: The Unforgettable Life of the Amnesic Patient, H. M. by Suzanne Corkin (醫學史上最廣為研究的腦受傷病者,所有記憶只會殘存20秒左右,生活中的每事每物,總是常新)
文學家對時間的探討 —— 普魯斯特《追憶似水年華》、Einstein’s Dream by Alan Lightman


Quotes
“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.”
― Albert Einstein

“Unlike mice, people can make a conscious decision to reconsider their past, which is what we do when we forgive someone. The memory of what happened is still there, but a newfound compassion for the person who hurt our feelings allows us to avert negative feelings. We can also decide to modify our outlook about past events.”
“People select what they remember to suit their current state of mind. If you are in good spirits, you think primarily of the happy times when picturing your relationship with your spouse, but if you are feeling blue, you focus on the fighting and disappointments during your years together.”

Profile Image for Ferda Nihat Koksoy.
464 reviews19 followers
February 10, 2016
YAŞAMIN HAMMADDESİ ZAMAN, BİR KULLANMA KILAVUZU
-Zamanı belirleyebilen, İKTİDAR sahibidir; zaman ve rastlantı iki büyük despottur (Herder'den).

-Kentliler, köylülere göre 2 katına yakın bir hızla hareket eder, tepki verir

-Goethe'nin ÖMRÜ boyunca yaşayabildikleri (18.yy), bugün 1 YILDA yaşanabilmektedir.

-İnternet, eskilerin sadece savaşlarda yaşayabildikleri heyecanı, SÜREKLİ var edebilecek bir ortamdır.

-Dönemimiz, "ÇOĞUNU ELE-BAZILARINI SEÇ-AZ ZAMAN AYIR-ÇOĞUNA ULAŞ" dönemidir ve DİKKAT'in, bilinç gerektiren 2 eyleme bölünmeyeceği ve HEDEF'e gidilirken dikkatin dağılacağı mesafelere ARA HEDEFLER konulması gerektiği unutulmamalıdır.

-Beden saati tüm hücreler için otomatiktir ve kortizol ve melatonin tarafından etkilenir. İÇ SAAT'imizi tanımamız, zamanı algılama yöntemleri geliştirmemize, en azından bazen yaşamı hızlandırıp-yavaşlatmayı öğrenmemize yardımcı olur. Yıllar, ne kadar renkli yaşanırsa, o kadar UZAR; bunu sağlayan biricik yöntem ise, ALIŞKANLIKLARI DEĞİŞTİRMEK ve yenilerini edinmektir.

-Uygar insanın ruhsal sağlığının göstergesi, kendisi için yaptıklarının kalitesinde yatar (muhabbet için muhabbet edebilmek, müzik için müzik dinleyebilmek gibi). MERAK, KONSANTRASYON ve ZEVK merkezlerinin beynin aynı bölgesinde yer aldığını, merakın konsantrasyon gücünü, konsantrasyonun ise zevki artıracağı akılda tutulmalıdır.
Profile Image for Sonny Ethan.
9 reviews
February 5, 2023
The ineffable brilliance that courses through the pages of this book cannot be overstated. This masterful tome delves into the eclectic and profound mysteries of time, elegantly explicating the trifurcation of time into the external, the circadian, and the conscious. It is a tale that unfurls the extent to which our modern society, with all its false axioms inherited from the medieval world, is a tapestry woven with threads of delusion.
Our world, with its rigid structures, is a place where "larks" reign supreme and "owls" are cast into the shadows, all the while ignoring the kaleidoscopic diversity of the human genome. The notion that businesses equate time with money is nothing short of absurd, a lunacy that defies all reason.
Similarly, our modern society, with its cacophony of stimuli, incites within us a frenzied, never-ending pursuit of time. We thrash and struggle, feeling as though we are drowning in an ocean of obligation and responsibility. But the truth is, we humans in the 21st century are more free than we have ever been.

If you are looking for a book that will deepen your understanding of time and challenge your perspectives, "Time: The Secret Life of Things" by Stefan Klein is a must-read.
Profile Image for Sandy.
23 reviews6 followers
Read
July 8, 2008
stephan klein, acclaimed german science writer, last looked at the nature of happiness and now focuses on time ---and do i ever love freeing myself from the tyranny of the clock! an ounce of gold is not worth a minute of time, as the chinese proverb goes

he looks at the physics of the mental time perception--you know, the 'flow' that occurs when we feel in control and completely present with our attention on the 'now'. the way past and future don't disturb us.
anybody who has worked michigan knows how a day can seem a hundred hours long--in a GOOD way

and though my righteous politics want him focus on 'squeezing' workers for more 'productive' time in our current climate--the sociological aspects show cross culturally that time is a matter of perception

every cell has it's own biological clock and everyone's is different--but take lunch outside
train your attentiveness to expand time and lift your mood
understand--really KNOW--that multitasking is an illusion
consciousness creates it's own time who's measure is always dependent on who is experiencing it
Profile Image for Sezen Türker.
Author 1 book36 followers
February 26, 2020
Klasik bir zaman yönetimi kitabı olduğunu düşünerek ve biraz burun kıvırarak okumaya başlamıştım. Yanılmak bazen ne kadar güzel!
Zaman algısındaki görecelilikten, fizik, psikoloji açılımları yaparak bahsederken, günümüzdeki zaman yönetimi eğitimleri ile de tatlı tatlı dalga geçiyor.
Yoğun bir tempoda büyük bir şehirde yaşayan ve 24 saat zaman dilimine sığamayan herkesin okuması gereken bir kitap.

“Zaman azlığı sorununun kökeninde aslında dışarıdan dayatılan hızlı tempo değil, kendi iç yaşantımızdan kaynaklanan üç faktör bulunuyor: konsantrasyonsuzluk, stres ve isteksizlik. Zaman sonsuz uzundur ve her nir gün, gerçekten doldurulmak isteniyorsa içine çok şeyin dökülebileceği bir çanak gibidir.”
Profile Image for Johnny Galt.
135 reviews9 followers
October 22, 2009
Written by a German dude. A little bit too involved and not enough entertaining. But I did learn about why when I wake up I feel a dreadful feeling of death in my soul. It's because my seratonin levels are way down and don't activate until I get up and move around. If any of you fell suicidal in the morning please get up. It will make you feel better.
87 reviews2 followers
January 30, 2017
Interesting book about how our brain perceives time. If you are looking for a book with concrete actions on how to optimize your time management, this is not the one. However, understanding how you work can help you make some changes yourself.
243 reviews1 follower
November 1, 2012
Light reading on how we perceive time. Enjoyable intellectual fluff.
Profile Image for Neil.
60 reviews
February 3, 2021
Parts of this book is fascinating other bits too abstract or too complicated.
Profile Image for David Rosen.
36 reviews6 followers
December 27, 2018
Useful for marketers who use future as a sales tool

Who knew biology played such an important role in how people perceive time? Exploring this aspect of "life's scarcest commodity" is "The Secret Pulse of Time" by Stefan Klein.

Working in an industry that frequently uses "the future" to sell ideas, it's a bit shocking to learn that it's not until we're four years old that we understand what a "day" means, and not 'til we're 13 that we can easily use terms like "earlier" and "later."

The degree to which our bodies keep time borderlines on freaky. Whether you're reading this now or not, chances are you were born at 4am. And that you'll die at 5am. (Hey, file your complaints with Stefan, not me.) But as in tune with the universe as we are, our minds don't have access to the fine watch-like movements our cells follow.

Ever notice how a trip to someplace new seems to take longer than the trip back? Klein says it's because experiences that are dense with novelty and data and require a lot of focus feel like they take longer. On the return trip you've already taken in much of the new information and your mind doesn't process the experience as lengthy. "When the brain separates out an experience to store it, it registers places, colors, shapes, feelings, sounds, smells, and taste. But time is not coded," says Klein. "Beautiful moments are fundamentally too brief, and unpleasant occasions never seem to end.." Poetic. Then he says caffeine also makes time feel like it's going by faster.

Other interesting finds in the book:

* Westerners think of the future as what's literally ahead of them, with the past pressing into their back. But this isn't a hard wired intuition. The Aymara tribe of the Andes think the future is behind them because it's impossible to see, and the past is in front of them because it has already been viewed. Klein says that they tend not to speculate about the future because it can't be seen.

* On a moment-by-moment basis, people generally thinking about either the past or the future, not the present.

* Thinking about the past changes one's memory about the past. (That's right Heisenberg fans). Klein says that memories can be reframed, which is why the "good old days" phenomenon exists.

Marketers and anyone curious about what literally makes us tick will find a lot to like in this book.
Profile Image for An Nguyen.
277 reviews2 followers
February 27, 2024
1. **Time Perception:** Klein delves into the concept of time and how humans perceive it. He explores how time seems to speed up or slow down depending on our experiences and circumstances.

2. **Neuroscience and Psychology:** Drawing on research in neuroscience and psychology, Klein examines the brain's perception of time and how it influences our behavior and decision-making processes.

3. **Cultural Perspectives:** The book explores how different cultures and societies view time differently. Klein discusses how cultural attitudes toward time shape individuals' perceptions and interactions with the world around them.

4. **Einstein's Theory of Relativity:** Klein discusses Albert Einstein's theory of relativity and its implications for our understanding of time. He explains how Einstein's work revolutionized our understanding of the nature of time and space.

5. **Time Management:** Klein offers practical advice on time management and productivity. He discusses strategies for making the most of our time and achieving a better balance between work, leisure, and personal fulfillment.

6. **Philosophical Reflections:** The book also delves into philosophical questions about the nature of time and its significance in human life. Klein explores timeless questions about mortality, aging, and the meaning of life.

7. **Scientific Research:** Throughout the book, Klein presents findings from scientific studies and experiments that shed light on the mysteries of time. He explores cutting-edge research in fields such as physics, psychology, and biology.

8. **Personal Anecdotes:** Interspersed with scientific insights, Klein shares personal anecdotes and stories that illustrate the complex and multifaceted nature of time. He draws on his own experiences and observations to offer readers a rich and engaging perspective on the subject.

Overall, "The Secret Pulse of Time" offers readers a thought-provoking exploration of one of life's most fundamental and enigmatic aspects. It combines scientific rigor with philosophical reflection and practical wisdom to help readers gain a deeper understanding of time and its role in shaping our lives.
Profile Image for Sofia.
12 reviews1 follower
November 13, 2016
A very equilibrated view on what is time, scientifically speaking, and how we perceive time, psychologically speaking. It made me feel as if I could finally have a little more information to understand myself, and to understand fellow humans. I learned that how we perceive time with our consciousness is very different as how our bodies perceive time, and also different on the measurements of time. The book gives sound advice on how to manage time, and how to get less stressed by our perceived lack of time. After I finished reading it I did some serious commitments with myself: turn all notifications off from my phone and computer; focus on one thing at a time; and strive to do less and consciously give things up in order to live with less stress. I learned also the relationship between time and memory, and how filling up your time with meaningful memories (full of emotions, sensations, images, and details) can make you feel as if you have had a life rich with time. Great read, and a good balance between the so called heart and head.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sameer K..
2 reviews
January 13, 2024
In The Secret Pulse of Time: Making Sense of Life's Sarcest Commodity, Klein eloquently and grippingly inducts us into the inner workings of the human mind and its nexus to time through the lens of cognitive science. He uncorks a global understanding of the temporal human experience that will undoubtedly furnish readers with a rounded appreciation of and control over their time.
Most promisingly, Klein explicates our temporal pliancy: that the courtesy of neuroplasticity enables us to recalibrate our perception and relationship to time. While linear time continues objectively, we relate to it subjectively, and therefore have full control over our temporal perceptions.

While this is by no means an exhaustive excavation of the interplay between time and mind, it is most certainly an excellent introduction to a fascinating topic.

Highly recommend. Knowledgeable work in limpid prose.
Profile Image for John Crippen.
475 reviews2 followers
February 4, 2024
German science journalist Klein describes how we make our own experience of time. The first part of the book explains the nature of inner time (in contrast to mechanical time) and sort of loosens up the reader to think about time more flexibly. Next, Klein analyzes how people deal with the time they "have." This part of the book covers whether or not an actual shortage of time is what causes stress and then a chapter each on inability to concentrate, being stressed out, and lacking motivation - the three main time wasters. The third part of the book gives a summary of the cosmic dimension of time, explaining the basics of Einstein's contributions to our understanding of the nature of time. Klein closes the book with six tips for having a more relaxed life, re your relationship with time. This is a short book, so you don't need much time to learn about time, and I found some interesting things to think about in most of the chapters, particularly in the first two parts of the book.
Profile Image for Joe.
108 reviews
August 30, 2021
Very well written and accessible. I had a great time reading this 😉 I loved how illustrative it was of how easily we forget about an issue that is so common to all of us. They may not be making any more time than we can imagine but by reading this we can be more mindful of the time we do have and use it more wisely. Very thought provoking and changed my perspective on a few issues. Introduced me to new concepts I hadn't previously considered and gave me concepts to help slow time from racing by. Highly recommend to anyone who likes a scientific and philosophical examination of a subject we all know but far too few consider, also recommend to anyone who thinks they just don't have enough time to do it all. 10/10
January 29, 2018
Zaman, aslında insanın  her durumda , her şartlarda günah keçisi ilan ettiği soyut bir kavram ama biz olanı biteni kendimiz çözmek yerine zamana yüklemeyi pek bi severiz.
-Zamanla geçer...

-Zamana bırak…

-Çok zamansız…

-Şimdi zamanı mı …

-Başka zaman …

-Zamanla …

-Ne zaman …

Çekti çekti … bu zaman bizlerden çok çekti .Bu kitabı okuyun dostlar , okuyun ki en kıymetli zamanlarınız boşa gitmesin.
Profile Image for Cora.
112 reviews
January 17, 2024
"Einzelne Augenblicke verschmelzen wie in einem Mosaik zum Eindruck einer längeren Zeitspanne; Sekunden verarbeiten wir anders als Stunden; Aufmerksamkeit und Erinnerung verändern die Wahrnehmung der Zeit; und wie sehr wir unter Stress stehen, hängt nicht vom Zeitbudget ab, sondern vom Maß an Kontrolle, das wir empfinden. Nur wer diesen Tatsachen Rechnung trägt, kann einen passenden Rhythmus seines Lebens entdecken."
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