How the brain perceives time

New experiments explore how the timekeepers in our heads help us make sense of the world

illustration of clocks and the brain

CLOCKING IN  To perceive time, the brain relies on internal clocks that precisely orchestrate movement, sensing, memories and learning.

Tang Yau Hoong

Everybody knows people who seem to bumble through life with no sense of time — they dither for hours on a “quick” e-mail or expect an hour’s drive to take 20 minutes.