Are people better at estimating short amounts of time (10 or 15 seconds) or longer time intervals (30 or 60 seconds)?
Short amounts of time. We don’t count perfectly, so counting over a longer period of time would make the counting veer off more than short amounts of time. The first time I counted 10 seconds I got 10,382 seconds. The second time I got 10,054 seconds. That was pretty well done, so in 15 seconds I got 15,100 seconds and for 30 seconds I did worse, so I got 26,045 seconds.
If a person's first attempt is an over-estimate, do they tend to underestimate on their second go?
No, as they have kind of picked up counting just a little bit slower should be closer, but not too slow. It depends on how fast they have counted the first time. I did better in my estimating the second time then the first time.
If you are better than your partner at estimating 10 seconds, are you more likely to also be better at estimating longer time intervals?
Yes, as if they are not as good as you for estimating 10 seconds, they will probably veer off for longer periods of time.
Are older people better at estimating than younger people?
No, they tend to think that seconds go either way longer or way shorter in time then they are. My dad did the estimating for the 10 seconds, and instead he got 5,134 seconds, because he thought seconds happened way faster than it does. My mom was better though, as she got 10,314 seconds.
Do people get better at estimating if they practise?
No, estimating time always varies, and there is never a pattern in estimating time. You will most probably never estimate the same time again the next time.
Some people estimate time by reciting or singing something of a specific length, others by counting, others by visualising the hands of a clock...
Which strategies for estimating are most effective?
Imagine the ticking hands of a clock… we usually look at the clock anyway to see if lessons are finished…;)
Is a person who is better at estimating time also likely to be better at estimating angles? Try Estimating Angles.
It depends, as being good at maths can make you better at measuring angles, whereas we can’t be necessarily good at counting time even if you’re good at maths. There is no guarantee as to whether people who are good at angles are good at estimating time.