How do we design experiences around how humans perceive time?

1. THERE’S MORE TIME
THAN THE PRESENT
@BUD_CADDELL
STRATEGIST

2. TODAY, I AM
TWENTY-SEVEN
YEARS OLD.
YESTERDAY I WAS TWENTY-SIX.

3. IN THE EARLY MORNING
OF NOVEMBER 11, 1982,
THE SPACE SHUTTLE
COLUMBIA EMBARKED
ON ITS FIRST MISSION.

4. FROM HER HOSPITAL BED,
MY MOTHER LOOKED UP
AT THE TV AND CHOSE
MY MIDDLE NAME...

5. JOSEPH P. ALLEN

6. IN THAT MOMENT,
WE WERE CONNECTED
BY TECHNOLOGY.
ASTRONAUT ALLEN
MOM & ME

7. AND SINCE THEN,
TECHNOLOGY HAS
RULED THE MOMENT.

11. WE’RE PERFORMING AN
ALWAYS-ON BEHAVIOR
BECAUSE WE’RE
INCREASINGLY AWARE
THAT THERE ARE THINGS
ALWAYS HAPPENING.

12. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE
ARE OVER 250 EDITS
MADE PER MINUTE
ON WIKIPEDIA.
SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA, SEP 2009

14. ONCE YOU ADD THE
HERE TO THE NOW,
YOU’RE REALLY
GETTING SOMEWHERE.
QUITE LITERALLY.

15. AND WE’RE INCHING EVER CLOSER TO
WHAT BRUCE STERLING IMAGINED IN
2004 AS A SPIME, A LOCATION-AWARE,
ENVIRONMENT-AWARE, SELF
DOCUMENTING TOOL.

16. FRANKLY, WE’VE
BECOME OBSESSED
WITH EVERYTHING
THAT’S HAPPENING
RIGHT NOW.
NOW FEELS GOOD. NOW REMINDS US
WE’RE ALIVE AND THAT WE’RE APART OF
SOMETHING BIGGER THAN OURSELVES.

20. AND WE’VE BEGUN
INVENTING NEW WAYS
TO DESCRIBE ALL OF
THIS NOWNESS.
ALL HAIL THE INFORMATION DESIGNERS,
AKA THE MOMENTARIANS!

25. A MACROSCOPE IS A
TOOL THAT ALLOWS US
TO VIEW THE
AGGREGATION OF TINY
INTERACTIONS INTO A
LARGER SYSTEM.
FROM JOHN THACKARA

26. BY THE WAY, WE TEND
TO LABEL ALL THIS
NOWNESS REAL-TIME.
TO DISCERN IT FROM FAKE-TIME?

27. ULTIMATELY, SEMANTICS
FAIL US WHEN TRYING
TO DESCRIBE THE
PRESENT MOMENT.
WHEN IS NOW? NOW? OR NOW?
AND WHILE WE’RE ON THE TOPIC,
MORRISSEY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW
HOW SOON IS NOW?

29. WE CALL THIS THE FUTURE.

30. AND LABEL THIS THE PAST.

31. SO THIS MUST BE NOW?

32. WE CAN ALSO CALL IT
THE HYPERSURFACE OF
THE PRESENT.
IF WE REALLY WANT TO.

33. ULTIMATELY, SAYING
NOW IS LIKE SAYING
HERE, BOTH ARE
INFINITELY DIVISIBLE AND
DEFINED BY PERCEPTION.

34. KANT GET YOU
OUT OF MY HEAD.

35. IN STUDYING SPACE AND
TIME, KANT ARGUED THAT
BOTH EMPIRICISM AND
RATIONALISM LACKED AN
UNDERSTANDING OF
HUMAN PERCEPTION AND
A PRIORI, THE FACULTY BY
WHICH WE APPREHEND
OBJECTS.

36. SINCE KANT, WE’VE
COME TO UNDERSTAND
THAT TIME IS RELATIVE.
TIME DILATION: MOVING CLOCKS ARE
MEASURED TO TICK MORE SLOWLY
THAN AN OBSERVER’S
“STATIONARY” CLOCK.

37. AN EFFECT PROVEN BY BODIES IN MOTION
AROUND THE EARTH, LIKE ASTRONAUT ALLEN
(AND GPS SATELLITES)

38. BUT WE ALSO KNOW
THAT TIME IS DEPENDENT
ON HOW OUR MINDS
PERCEIVE IT AS WELL.
OR OUR UNDERSTANDING OF ITS PASSING

39. THE ANCIENT GREEKS
HAD TWO WORDS TO
DESCRIBE TIME:
CHRONOS & KAIROS

40. CHRONOS REPRESENTED
THE PASSAGE OF TIME,
CALENDARS, SEASONS,
HARVESTS, AND DEATH.
THE SCARY VERSION OF TIME

41. KAIROS REPRESENTED A
TIME IN BETWEEN, A
MOMENT, USUALLY OF
OPPORTUNITY.
THE DON’T FRET VERSION OF TIME

42. SIMILARLY, MODERN
CULTURAL STUDIES HAVE
DESCRIBED ONE’S USE
AND PERCEPTION OF
TIME AS MONOCHRONIC
OR POLYCHRONIC.

43. POLYCHRONS VIEW
TIME AS FLOWING,
UNSTRUCTURED, AND
CONTINUOUS.
PREVALENT IN LATIN-AMERICAN AND
MIDDLE-EASTERN CULTURES

44. MONOCHRONS VIEW
TIME IN DISCRETE UNITS
THAT SHOULD BE
ORGANIZED AND
SCHEDULED.
PREVALENT IN WESTERN OR MORE
INDUSTRIALIZED CULTURES

45. TOGETHER, KAIROS/
CHRONOS AND POLY/
MONOCHRONIC
PROVIDE A VALUABLE
SPECTRUM TO
CONSIDER PERCEPTION.

46. MONOCHRONIC
POLYCHRONIC
BECAUSE THESE ARE
CULTURAL MINDSETS,
MOVEMENT FROM
ONE EXTREME TO
ANOTHER IS
RELATIVELY
INFREQUENT.

47. MONOCHRONIC
POLYCHRONIC
BECAUSE THESE ARE
CULTURAL MINDSETS,
MOVEMENT FROM
ONE EXTREME TO
ANOTHER IS
RELATIVELY
INFREQUENT.
A WESTERN CULTURE

48. MONOCHRONIC
POLYCHRONIC
BECAUSE THESE ARE
CULTURAL MINDSETS,
MOVEMENT FROM
ONE EXTREME TO
ANOTHER IS
RELATIVELY
INFREQUENT.
A WESTERN CULTURE
A LATIN-AMERICAN
CULTURE

49. MONOCHRONIC
POLYCHRONIC
CHRONOS KAIROS
CONSIDER THIS A SPECTRUM
OF THE MOMENTARY
PERCEPTION FOR THE
MANAGEMENT OF TIME AND
NECESSARY ACTIVITIES.

50. MONOCHRONIC
POLYCHRONIC
CHRONOS KAIROS
CONSIDER THIS A SPECTRUM
OF THE MOMENTARY
PERCEPTION FOR THE
MANAGEMENT OF TIME AND
NECESSARY ACTIVITIES.
A NEED TO PLAN
ONE’S TIME

51. MONOCHRONIC
POLYCHRONIC
CHRONOS KAIROS
CONSIDER THIS A SPECTRUM
OF THE MOMENTARY
PERCEPTION FOR THE
MANAGEMENT OF TIME AND
NECESSARY ACTIVITIES.
A NEED TO PLAN
ONE’S TIME
A NEED TO FLOW
AND DISCOVER

52. MONOCHRONIC
POLYCHRONIC
CHRONOS KAIROS

53. ULTIMATELY, OUR
PERCEPTION OF TIME IS
GROUNDED IN OUR
PERCEPTION OF EVENTS.
WE PERCEIVE TIME AS THE DURATION
BETWEEN EVENTS AND ACTIONS.

54. A
S
T
R
O
N
A
U
T
A
L
L
E
N
MOM
ME
THE DAY OF MY BIRTH
ABOUT TEN YEARS LATER
WE ALL MET IN PERSON
WE PERCEIVE SHORTER EVENTS IN THE
CONTEXT OF LONGER EVENTS.

55. AT THE MOMENT OF AN
EVENT, WE DECIPHER
WHAT HAS CHANGED
AND WHAT HAS
STAYED THE SAME.
THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF OUR ABILITY
TO RECOGNIZE PATTERNS.

56. WHAT HAS BECOME
AND WHAT HAS PASSED

57. AND THROUGH THIS
MENTAL PROCESS, WE
BECOME CONSCIOUS
OF THE FUTURE.
WE RECOGNIZE PATTERNS OVER TIME IN ORDER
TO MAKE PREDICTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE.

58. SAFETY OR RISK?

59. HOPE AND DESPAIR
ARE THE EMOTIONAL
MANIFESTATIONS OF
FUTURE CONSCIOUSNESS.
WE FEEL EITHER ONE BASED ON THE
PREDICTIONS WE MAKE FROM PASSING EVENTS.

60. WILL THERE BE A FUTURE?

61. APPROACH AND
AVOIDANCE ARE THE
MOTIVATED BEHAVIORS
MANIFESTED FROM
FUTURE CONSCIOUSNESS.
WE WORK FOR OR AGAINST THE FUTURE WE
HOPE OR DESPAIR WILL COME TO PASS.

62. WILL WE PLAN TO ACT?

63. WHEN AN EVENT
OCCURS, WE:
DISCERN TIME BETWEEN THIS EVENT AND
THE LAST EVENT WE RECALL
LOOK FOR PATTERNS
COLLECT MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS OF
THE FUTURE SO THAT WE CAN VISUALIZE IT

64. WHEN WE PREPARE TO
REACT, WE:
FEEL HOPE OR DESPAIR BASED ON OUR
SECURITY OR RISK
CHOOSE APPROACH OR AVOIDANCE
BUILD SCENARIOS, SET GOALS, ASK WHAT-
IFS, VISUALIZE THE FUTURE, AND PLAN

65. WHAT DOES ANY OF
THIS HAVE TO DO
WITH MARKETING &
TECHNOLOGY?
WHEN WE INTERACT WITH PEOPLE,
WE INITIATE A MENTAL PROCESS.

66. ATTENTION IS OUR
SCARCEST NATURAL
RESOURCE.
AND ATTENTION IS GIVEN BASED ON
A PERCEPTION OF TIME AND A
CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE FUTURE.

67. ARE WE PROVIDING
SOMETHING WORTH
THE ATTENTION?

68. AND HOW
LONG WILL THE
PAYOFF TAKE?

69. AND ARE WE
CREATING COGNITIVE
BARRIERS TO ENTRY?

70. MONOCHRONIC
POLYCHRONIC
CHRONOS KAIROS
OUR INTERACTIONS
IMPACT A PERSON’S
POSITION ON THIS MAP.
IN DISCOVERY MODE

71. MONOCHRONIC
POLYCHRONIC
CHRONOS KAIROS
OUR INTERACTIONS
AFFECT A PERSON’S
POSITION ON THIS MAP.
PLANNING TO
TAKE ACTION
AND WHAT THEY CAN
ACCOMPLISH ON
OUR BEHALF.

72. WHEN WE DESIGN
EXPERIENCES AROUND
NOW, WE OFTEN DESIGN
FOR KAIROS TIME.

74. WE DESIGN TO FIND
SOMEONE IN FLOW,
BUT WE OFTEN DON’T
ENCOURAGE PLANNING.
EVEN THOUGH THEY’RE COGNITIVELY
CONSIDERING THEIR OPTIONS AT THE TIME.

75. WE SHOULD BE
ENCOURAGING WHAT-IFS,
OFFERING SCENARIOS,
PROVIDING VISUAL
REPRESENTATIONS OF
THE FUTURE, AND
CREATING WAYS TO PLAN.
FOR A PURCHASE OR AN ACTION

77. WE SHOULD DESIGN A
SYSTEM THAT MINIMIZES
A PERSON’S PERCEPTION
OF TIME SPENT.

78. WE SHOULD BE
CONSCIOUS OF THE
PATTERN WE’RE CREATING.

79. AND WE SHOULD FOSTER
AN ENDURING SENSE OF...

80. THANK YOU FOR
YOUR TIME.

81. ABOUT ME:
MY NAME IS BUD CADDELL
AND I WORK AS A DIGITAL
STRATEGIST FOR THE NY
BASED DIGITAL THINK-TANK,
UNDERCURRENT. FIND ME AT
HTTP://BUDCADDELL.COM
WISH ME A
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
BY SHARING THIS
PRESENTATION
WITH SOMEONE
YOU KNOW!
ABOUT THIS DECK:
IF ANY IDEAS SOUND TOO
GOOD, I MUST HAVE STOLEN
THEM. IF YOU WANT TO
LEARN MORE, FOLLOW THIS
LINK: http://bit.ly/3aiVWe