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Business Daily

Rethinking time

Business Daily

BBC

Business

4.4816 Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2021

⏱️ 17 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

All our lives are ruled by time and it's a fundamental part of our daily routines but what if we could make time go more slowly - or quickly? Adrian Bejan, a professor in thermodynamics at Duke University says that this is possible if we just open our minds to how we perceive change. And if we could make time last longer, what would be the most efficient way of using it? We get some tips from Laura Vanderkam a writer and speaker on time management. Plus, research scientist Christian Clot tells us about an experiment where all markers of time were taken away, including clocks, watches and sunlight - and what that could mean for how we live in the future. And casino designer and consultant, Bill Friedman explains how the idea of timelessness is put to practical use in casinos where professional gamblers want to feel that they're always in the moment.

Picture: antique clocks, Picture credit: Getty Images

Presenter: Elizabeth Hotson Producer: Sarah Treanor

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I'm Elizabeth Hotson and in today's Business Daily, we're looking at the concept of time.

0:09.9

Is it really possible to slow it down or make it go faster? And how can we use our time more wisely?

0:17.8

The best way to make good use of our time is to really know where our time is going. We have all sorts of

0:25.2

ideas about how we spend our time, but many of us don't know for sure. So I always recommend that

0:31.4

people try keeping track of their time. And we'll also be looking at an experiment where all the markers of time, including sunlight and clocks, were taken away entirely.

0:42.7

This is Business Daily from the BBC.

0:48.6

Living with time is a huge freedom.

0:52.7

You suddenly don't have any obligation because of time.

0:56.5

It was a nice sensation, a strong feeling that we were completely free.

1:00.9

It's the first time in my life, my whole life, that I felt so much free in a place.

1:06.3

We have on the dime in the world,

1:15.7

die enough for life to unfold

1:21.5

are the precious things love.

1:25.9

That was French researcher Christian Clou,

1:28.2

talking about living with the absence of any knowledge of time

1:31.6

in an experiment earlier this year,

1:34.3

which saw him and other volunteers living in a pitch black cave

1:37.9

with no clocks and no idea if it was morning, noon or night.

1:42.2

We'll hear more from Christian later.

1:44.0

We need hear more from Christian later.

1:53.2

If you listen to the melifluous voice of Louis Armstrong,

1:57.0

it really does feel as though you have all the time in the world.

...

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