The Theory of Relativity...Sort of

I don't consider myself to be profound, but sometimes I'm surprised to learn that ideas that seem commonplace to me are new ideas for others. For example, recently I had a conversation with one of my colleagues (a seasoned professional who I regard highly as one of the most practical, knowledgeable, and intelligent people at my company) was intrigued and seemed impressed when I shared my theory of relativity with him.

The theory is that the reason one year seems like an eternity for a child but a short amount of time for an adult and a blink of an eye for a senior citizen is based on the relative length of the time each person has lived. For example, one year for a three-year old is 33 percent of her life lived to that point; one year for a 30-year old is 3 percent of her life lived to that point; and one year for a 80-year-old is 1.25 percent of her life lived to that point. This means that when a person says "it feels like time is flying by" to some extent, she's right. The longer she lives, the shorter one week or one month, or even one year for that matter, seems based on the total amount of time she has lived.