Product Description

Why does time seem to speed up as we get older? Why does it seem to drag when we're bored or in pain, or to go slowly when we're in unfamiliar environments? Why does it slow down dramatically in accidents and emergency situations, when sportspeople are 'in the zone', or in higher states of consciousness? "Making Time" explains why we have these different perceptions of time, suggesting that there are five basic 'laws' of psychological time and uncovering the factors which cause them. It uses evidence from modern physics and unusual states of consciousness to suggest that our normal sense of time is an illusion, 'created' by our minds. But perhaps more importantly, on a practical level, this book shows us what we can do to control our sense of time passing, to make it pass slowly or quickly in different situations. It suggests that it is possible for us to live through more time in our lives, and so effectively increase the amount of time which we are alive for. In the final chapter, Steve Taylor uses insights from Buddhism - investigating the practices of mindfulness and meditation - to show how we can actually transcend linear time, and learn to live fully in the present moment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #241382 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

The Independent, July 2008
'Provocative and freewheeling... this book will really start you thinking about how you can try to be free.'

Review
'Provocative and freewheeling, wilfully unscientific without ever dabbling in pseudoscience, this book will really start you thinking about how you can try to be free.'

Review
'A fascinating inquiry ... Taylor's book is so absorbing that time will fly by as you read it.'

Customer Reviews

fascinating and extremely readable
I did read this book very quickly but it felt like very little time passed while I was reading and now I understand why. As the book points out, absorption makes our experience of time seem to contract. While I was reading I recognised so many experiences from my own life and found myself continually in agreement. The author puts forward a very coherent theory which explains the different perceptions of time we experience in a variety of situations. As such it is extremely thought-provoking and plausible. Later the theories becomes more speculative but still plausible and stimulating, dealing with different states of consciousness and unusual experiences of time slowing down or disappearing. All the way through, even when dealing with quite complicated ideas the book is always very easy to read. You're carried along with the energy of the writing and the enthusiasm for ideas. At the end I feel inspired to try to live my live in a different way, making more time for new experience and trying to live in the present and appreciate each moment.

Breakfast tv made me buy this book
I saw the author on BBC Breakfast whilst eating my cornflakes a couple of days ago. The issues he was talking about seemed interesting but accessible to a non-scientist, non-clever-person like me. And yes, it's a very enjoyable read. Simply laid out with each chapter taking you through to another level of how time can be stretched and shrunk depending on your perception and your circumstances. It's a simple idea well explained, illustrated with episodes from Mr Taylor's own life (as well as famous sports stars etc) that make the more clever-er concepts easier to understand. I'd recommend it. Weirdly, it made a train journey go extremely quickly. Which has to be a good thing!

candidate for the book of the year
This book is full of fascinating insights into why we experience the world the way we do, and in particular the way we experience different perceptions of time. It's one of those books which makes you look at familiar things in a new and fresh light. In particular, I was impressed with the section on time in different cultures, that explains why many indigenous peoples don't have any concept of time or any past or future tenses. Oh to live in one of those timeless cultures! But the book does describe how we can become less focused on time, and even transcend it to some extent. A very absorbing and even life-changing book.