Momenttiens

Momenttiens are a proposed unit of subjective time used to quantify the perceived duration of discrete moments in conscious experience. Unlike objective time, which is measured by clocks, momenttiens aim to capture how long a perceptual event feels to a person under specific conditions. The length of a momenttien depends on factors such as sensory modality, attention, and context, and can vary across observers and situations.

Measurement relies on psychophysical methods in which participants judge whether two intervals feel equal or adjust a comparison interval until it matches a reference moment. A standard protocol may define a reference moment as one momenttien under a fixed reference stimulus, such as a brief flash or sound. In reporting results, researchers may normalize momenttiens to a baseline, for example treating 1 momenttien as the shortest reliably perceived interval in a given setup, while acknowledging variability.

Applications include studies of film pacing, video games, and user interface design, where perceived tempo matters as much as clock time. It is also used in cognitive and neuroscience research on attention, arousal, and time perception to compare subjective durations across modalities.

History and status: the term emerged in interdisciplinary workshops in the late 2010s as a conceptual tool to discuss subjective timing. It has not achieved formal standardization and remains primarily a research concept rather than a universal unit.

Criticism notes that momenttiens cannot be universal due to high inter-individual variability and context dependence. Proponents argue that, when clearly defined for a given study, momenttiens can improve communication about subjective pacing and perceptual experience.