What if you could slow down time — without getting into a car accident? In this episode of Fascinating Nouns, host Daniel J. Glenn sits down with psychologist and author Dr. Steven Taylor to explore one of the most fascinating phenomena in human experience: time expansion.
We dig into the science behind why time seems to slow to a crawl during car crashes, emergencies, and near-death situations — and why that’s not just a trick of memory. Dr. Taylor shares his own dramatic highway accident, the story of a pregnant woman dodging bullets in slow motion, and a cyclist who calculated how to survive being run over by a truck — all in a matter of seconds.
We also break down Taylor’s four laws of psychological time: why time speeds up as we get older, why new experiences stretch time, why absorption makes hours vanish, and why altered states of consciousness can make seconds feel like hours. Plus — how elite athletes like Ted Williams, Lionel Messi, LeBron James, and Michael Jordan may literally experience time more slowly than the rest of us, and how meditation and martial arts can help ordinary people access the same ability.
This episode will change the way you think about every second of your day.
🎙️ Topics Covered:
What are time expansion experiences & how common are they?
The science of time slowing down in accidents & emergencies
The hypermemory hypothesis — and why Dr. Taylor is skeptical
The four laws of psychological time
Why time speeds up as we age
New experiences, flow states & the zone
Elite athletes and slowed-down time perception
DMT, psychedelics & altered states
Meditation & martial arts as tools for time control
Near-death experiences & awakening experiences
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