How to Slow Down Time

Flash Man from Mega Man 2.

The Stopwatch Sub Weapon in many Castlevania Games.

Bullet time from Max Payne and Enter the Matrix.

Slow/Stop from the Final Fantasy universes.

Viewtiful Joe, Ōkami, Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, Devil May Cry 3, and Grand Theft Auto 3 are just a few examples of games that have some type of time slowing or stopping mechanic.

Ever wish you could slow down time? Remember how time in our youth seemed to pass by so slowly, but the older we get, the faster it goes by?

It is ironic, since waiting for summer or Christmas as a kid seemed to take forever. Now time just seems to fly by.

What if there actually was a way to slow time down? What might be possible?

Neuroscientist David Eagleman might be on to something when he asserts that the more detail in a specific memory, the longer the moment will seem to last. He explains that this accounts for why we think that time speeds up when we become older. Part of this means that as the world becomes more familiar, your brain does not need to take note of as much detail, so time seems to pass by much more quickly.

In fact, one technique I have seen used in many movies to show time passing by slowly is a close up on a dripping faucet, a blinking eye, or some other detail that we often take no notice of. 

So if you want to slow time down, you don’t need to be super human – any of us can do it, and it really comes down to one important concept.

Take time to notice the details.

The joys of today.

The beauty of the now.

The intentional act of being present in the moment.

As part of an experiment a while back, I took the time to look around myself during a walk…and just notice.

Notice all the things I pass on a daily walk that I take, but pay no attention to – since I am often thinking about where I am going, and not where I am at that very moment.

The very first thing I noticed as I set out on this intentional walk, is that I found it almost impossible to walk slowly. I have become accustomed to walking at a very brisk pace, with a destination in mind, a meeting that will soon start, or a location that I am ultimately making the effort to arrive.

I never thought it would be so difficult to walk just a bit more slowly – but I caught myself, several times, spending up my pace. Maybe out of habit, maybe out of some false sense of urgency, but this realization alone gave great value in the act of intentionally taking notice.

So unless you are lucky enough to find a power up in an empty file room at work, or you suddenly learn Stopga after turning 34, this might be your best bet.

 What would you do if you could slow down time?