why it works
scientific evidence that wows work
These talks all have in common that they expose us to ‘deep time’; putting our lives in the context of the lifespan of Earth, or the Universe.
Recent psychological research* shows that doing this has several wellbeing and social benefits: increasing life satisfaction, decreasing anxiety and increasing forgiveness of self and others.
All of which makes for a much more productive team working environment!
In the study, participants were exposed by psychologists to a sense of ‘deep time’; in this case either by condensing the history of the universe to a year to show the average human lifetime as 2/10ths of a second, or by bringing ‘deep time’ to life with a variety of visual graphics.
The positive effects were driven by a feeling of smallness in the face of vastness, and a sense of ‘awe’ - a finding which has been evident in several published studies since 2003. This new study shows that deep time and space and its associated awe, are a powerful way to access this feeling.
It’s small scale but sound science, and it clearly reinforces why we can all benefit from exposure to big perspectives, deep time, and a sense of wow.
*Matthew Hornsey et al (2025), The cosmic calendar: being reminded of the vastness of time can improve wellbeing, The Journal of Positive Psychology