Telescoping effect
The telescoping effect is misplacing events in time, so that distant events seem more recent than they were and recent events seem further back. It is a memory error that can distort surveys and personal timelines.
In everyday life
Asked when they last saw a dentist, someone says 'about a year ago', though their records show it was nearly three years.
You tell a friend that a famous celebrity wedding happened 'a couple of years ago', and she shows you it was actually eight years back.
Why your mind does this
Imagining the past and the future is hard, so the brain uses the present as a template. Assuming things will stay roughly as they are now is a quick and usually workable guide. Making sense of events after the fact also helps us learn lessons and feel in control.
Its family, in 30 seconds: Projecting ourselves
How to spot it
Ask whether you have a dated record, or are just going by how vivid the memory feels.
How to counter it
Tie dates to known landmarks, such as a move, a birthday or a job change, or check your calendar and photos.
Same family: Projecting ourselves
SourcesNeter & Waksberg (1964)·Wikipedia