The Short Version
The overestimation of short time intervals is one of the most replicated findings in time perception research, grounded in Vierordt's Law (1868) and confirmed by a large-scale 2023 study of ~24,500 participants. However, the claim's unqualified use of "systematically" slightly overstates the pattern's universality. Under specific conditions — high cognitive load, certain task structures, or neural adaptation — the bias can reverse to underestimation. The phenomenon is best described as a dominant tendency rather than an unconditional rule.