Time discounting is an economic concept which can be illustrated in this simple question: would you rather get $1 now than get $1 next year? Most of us will choose to get $1 now because $1 next year is worth less than $1 today, assuming there is no inflation. This is time discounting. Everything in future is worth less than things now (except for wines and antiques, for sure).

The financial interpretation of time discounting can be generalized to other dimensions. For example, one year of life now is worth more than one year of life ten years after, even after you take account of aging effect. Time discounting is an important parameter in calculating quality of life measurement.
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