Those guys who know the telephone directory by page number and line are probably hugely lacking in another department to have such a gift.
'Time' is the construct we use to describe something that exists whether we're around to sense it' passage or not. A descriptor. If a tree falls in a forest I'm reasonably certain it makes a noise even if nothing's around to hear it. Thinking about
that too long can put your head into a feedback loop ......
Even when we're talking about our pets imagine their difference in perspective; we live much longer and have abilities to go places and do things that are beyond the comprehension of our furry loved ones. If we could talk to them about it - and filter out the endless stream of '
food food food food food play food sleep sleep sleep' - their sense of the passage of time would be very different from ours. Any while we're playing Dr.Doolittle go talk to an insect that only lives a couple of days about time. And then ask the little bug why the hell they can never fly back out through the same window they came in through. Too much to do and not enough time to do it, probably.
I actually knew a savant. Calendar oriented. Remembers any birthday he ever hears, can accurately tell you what day of the week a date was on, how many days between dates, stuff like that. So in some fashion the capacity to store and quickly access a lot of material most of us couldn't is there but he pays for it in other ways and struggles with things we take for granted. Can't imagine what his sense of time must be like. Unfortunately he lacks the tools to describe it. I've asked and the best answer I get is that he 'just sees' the calendar and 'just knows' the answer.
Weird when you encounter it. I used to see him regularly at the gym and for the longest time all my birthday cards were right on time. And now I don't. Dunno what ever happened to Bob but he's a sweet soul I hope he's OK.