Is it possible to visualize time graphically based on our understanding of it?
One, two, three o’clock, four o’clock rock. Five, six, seven o’clock, eight o’clock, shock. Nine, ten, eleven o’clock, twelve o’clock, block. I used to “rock against the clock” on nights before important deliveries, presentations, exams, trips, and everything that required previous preparation. If Nintendo produced my life biography those nights would sound like a fast-paced soundtrack when game time is almost over.
The most devastating deficits in adult life that ADHD produces are blindness to time or near-sightedness to the future. It means people with ADHD cannot hierarchically organize behavior across time, and that includes looking back to look ahead, to get ready for the future. This is a general behavior reported in many scientific sources by people with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). There are multiple factors to this phenomenon, such as attention deficits, working memory impairments, impulsivity, and a predilection toward immediate gratification. It can lead to big prejudice in all aspects of life (Russell A Barkley, 2014).
The concept of time is complex and can be perceived differently depending on various factors such as individual ADHD brain activity and focus. The dopamine deficit system in an ADHD brain leads to a more rapid “inner clock,” which distorts time perception.
Because of all this time perception thing, I’ve been trying for years to figure out time. As an image person maybe I should run to a graphic language.
Let’s think about very basic geometry. I identified 3-time concept patterns: time as a circle, related to the physical world, or the” physical individual” explained by life's cycles; time as a line related to human society history, very accurate when based on true evidence; and time as a cube, a universe of possibilities, related to modern physics and monotheistic religions.
They exist together currently.
The cycle of life turns at the same time the history is registered in sequence when the fabric of the universe is mysteriously influenced by the supernatural.
Time as a Circle
The internal physiologic processes related to time perception are based on natural life cyclical processes. For instance, the circadian cycle, periods, and many organic transformations form what we know as life. However, there is no evidence that people with ADHD can interpret time as a circular concept.
It has not been possible for scholars to articulate a definition of time that applies to all fields without relying on circular reasoning. Curiously, there is no “time” word in the Circle of Life lyrics — by Sor Elton Jhon for The Lion King movie (Disney, 1994) — That means time as sequential events doesn’t mean significant transformations for other species.
Gregorian calendar concept is based on “cycled” astronomic knowledge as seasons, as the Moon is around Earth, and the Earth rounds the Sun and itself. According to Augustine, the psychological experience of time involves remembering past events, anticipating future events, and perceiving different lengths of time, rather than simply an objective reality.
Time as a Line
Living with ADHD can be challenging for individuals to plan, prioritize, and complete tasks that require a significant time investment in different aspects of life. Barkley says ADHD is destroying the timing and timeliness of human behavior. Even time organization assisted by external temporal devices is an abstract concept for people with ADHD.
To organize events humans have been measuring time for thousands of years. Ancient Greeks
developed horology to keep track of speaking time during public events, using sundials and water clocks. Also, timekeeping became more crucial for agriculture, trade, and navigation. The invention of mechanical clocks in the 14th century improved precision and accuracy — which eventually became smartwatches.
Time can be seen as a sequence of irreversible events that occur in a specific order, from past to present to future. This idea is crucial in fields like physics, philosophy, and history as it explains how events and processes evolve and how patterns emerge over time in 3 parts: present, past, and future, generally represented as a timeline.
Time is a relative concept that depends on the observer’s frame of reference. Exactly in the game “Passage”, an indie game created and developed by Jason Rohrer in 2007. Its gameplay mechanics explore the ephemerality of life and the limitations of time, graphically translated in a game’s screen set up to resemble a lifetime.
The main character is on the left screen when the game starts. Its position on the screen represents “the present”. The right side is pixelated, representing the uncertainty and lack of clarity about the future of youth (screen 1). As gameplay occurs, the character drives slowly to the middle of the screen. All lifetime screens are clear at this point, representing notions of the past and future, depending on the present position (screen 2). In the end, the character is on the right side of the screen, representing life’s end (screen 3). However, the left part is pixelized, as a distant past. The screen long-line format is important to game understanding, with a beginning, middle, and end.
Although Passage’s screen only displays a 100x16px image, the players can explore different scenarios when moving vertically. There is no one right way to play it, although every player’s choice is crucial to a unique gameplay experience. Decisions are about controlling character direction and respecting spatial limits established.
This mechanic can be compared to life possibilities. The game designer aims to encourage players to make the most of their time and choose wisely in life, using both subjective experiences and objective measurements of time (Poubel, 2019).
Unlike Passage’s heroes- who seemingly planned actions in the code- individuals with ADHD may struggle to navigate the vast potential the present moment offers. Those with ADHD may focus solely on the present and struggle to consider the future and its consequences. ADHD is living in the now, but not in a good way. The now is visible, tangible, and more compelling than the information about the future. It generates procrastination, anxiety, and frustration.
Time as a Cube
According to The Big Bang theory, all physical matter was created by the Jewish/Christian/Muslim God by spreading quarks to create the universe. Those with ADHD live like they did in a time before time when everything was everywhere at the same time.
At that time everything is in the same place concurrently. In the same way, as the internet hyperlinks system works. It broke with the time-space notion. Wikipedia has lots of content about history but is an essentially anachronistic object.
ADHD disrupts the fabric of time. Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity explains that time is relative and can be transformed. A fabric represents it without a physical entity. This theory builds on special relativity and enhances Newton’s law of universal gravitation, presenting gravity as a geometric attribute of four-dimensional spacetime encompassing space and time. Time is not only Distance ÷ Speed. It’s also E = Mc2. 299.792.458 m/s can be a time fraction?
The idea of a 4D is often used as a theoretical concept in physics and mathematics to help explain the behavior of particles and the universe. However, as a 3-dimension living being, we cannot select many frames simultaneously.
Time is about the paths we choose when pursuing a future life goal. For an ADHD person only exists "Now" and "Not now". Without a sense of time, ADHD people struggle to pursue it throughout their lifetime. It causes pain, frustration, and mental illness.
Also, it can be detrimental in a world that needs disruptive ideas and innovative minds.
Despite the inability to measure time accurately, Da Vinci devised a method to overcome this by trading time for space. He measured how objects fell from different heights and concluded that all objects arrive at the same time if they are at the same height, making precise fundamental assumptions. This solution was innovative and effective in addressing the challenge of measuring time during his era, two centuries before Newton proposed the universal law of gravity. If something is unmeasurable, make it measurable.
