Are equator-dwellers “present hedonists”?

still from "The Secret Powers of Time" video

“The closer you are to the equator,” says Professor Philip Zimbardo, “the more present-oriented you are. The more you’re in an environment where climate doesn’t change, it gives you a [mind] set of imagining sameness rather than change.”

I’m not sure I agree, but it’s definitely a thought-provoking insight, one of many from Zimbardo’s (literally) animated philosophy lecture about cultural perspectives on time.

Other juicy quotes from his video:

–We all begin lives as present hedonists….the purpose of school is to take present-oriented little beasts and makes them more future-oriented.

–Shared time perception characterizes nations.

–Lots of conflict we have with people are about different perceptions of time.

Whether you think the video (at ten minutes) is long or short will be a function of your perception of time, but either way, it’s well worth your, uh, time.