Watching this animated clip is the coolest 10 minutes most of us will spend today. It’s a lively illustrated lecture about Time, how people perceive it, and how it affects behavior. At about the three-minute mark, the professor introduces research saying that the closer one lives to the equator, the more “present-oriented” people are — this, as opposed to people who live farther away from the equator, and who experience more distinct seasons, making them more “future-oriented.” This has large implications for social psychology, including the ease with which individuals and cultures can learn to delay gratification. This short lecture is full of fascinating ideas, including the professor’s concern that computers are reformatting the brains of young people to distort their experience of time, and make it harder for them to learn traditionally. Take a look and tell me what you think. (Thanks to mm for sending it).