TIME-TRIPPIN’why car rides seem
to last forever
ALMOST ANYONE WILL TELL YOU
that long road trips feel eternal. This ef-
fect, researchers say, happens because
humans make pretty terrible timekeep-
ers. We have no master clock in our brains
that ticks the passage of each second.
Rather, neurons all over our noggins track
time, with different regions triggered by
distinct stimuli—like the need to wait for
a reward or clap to a beat. And these neu-
rons are easily swayed by other mental
processes, like attention.
Paying attention to time activates the
brain’s supplementary motor area (SMA),
says Jennifer Coull, an experi mental psy-
chologist at Aix-Marseille University inFrance. The more we note time’s pas-
sage, the more active the SMA becomes,
she says, and neuroscientists think the
brain misinterprets more SMA activity as
more time passed.
In studies where people were told in ad-
vance that they’d be asked how long a task
took, participants focused on time passing
and overestimated the activity’s duration.
Those unaware they’d be asked these
queries attended only to the task, and
underestimated the time to complete it.
The same effect is true in a car. So use
this issue’s puzzles as a way to trick your
brain— these cerebral challenges will seem
to speed up the clock on your road trip.by Dana G. SmithHEAD TRIPTIME TRIALS, p. 121
The Olympic sprinter and the high school
track star cross together first (two min-
utes). The Olympic sprinter rushes back,
light in hand (one minute). Then, the fifth
grader and the kindergartner run across,
with the light (10 minutes). The high school
track star, waiting on the other side, rushes
back with the flashlight to grab the Olym-
pian (two minutes). Together, they run
across just before the bridge collapses
(two minutes, for a total of 17 minutes).A CALCULATED TRIP, p. 121
All three planes take off at the same time
and head west for 45 minutes, making it
one-eighth of the way there. At that point,
Dan gives 45 gallons of his fuel each to
Jen and the engineer. Jen and the engineer
press on, and Dan returns to the airport.
When they reach the 90 degree mark, Jen
gives 45 gallons to the engineer and heads
back to the airport; the engineer keeps
moving. When the engineer hits the 180 de-
gree mark, Dan leaves the airport heading
east and meets the engineer at the 270 de-
gree mark. Dan gives him 45 gallons, turns
around, and heads west with the engineer.
At the same time, Jen heads east to meet
them. They all meet again at the 315 degree
mark. Jen gives 45 gallons to Dan and the
engineer, leaving each plane with 45 gal-
lons—enough to make it back to the airport.THE ANSWERS
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FOR MEN“THE FUTURES WE WERE PROMISED” PHOTO CREDITS
PAGE 57, TOP DOWN: COURTESY EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION; POP SCI ARCHIVE; COURTESY
UBER. PAGE 59, TOP DOWN: THREE LIONS/GETTY IMAGES; ROLLS PRESS/ POPPER FOTO/GETTY IMAGES;
COURTESY VECTORR. PAGE 61, TOP DOWN: COURTESY POP SCI ARCHIVE (2); KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY
IMAGES. PAGE 63, TOP DOWN: COURTESY CAR FROM UK; COURTESY CARNEGIE MELLON (2)