4 ms·
I think the ubiquity of clocks in western societies points to the fact that time cannot be directly perceived. Our perceptions of time are both individual and c
by mhalle 5y ago
I think the ubiquity of clocks in western societies points to the fact that time cannot be directly perceived. Our perceptions of time are both individual and circumstantial. For instance, time dilation slows the apparent passage of time during sudden trauma like a car crash.
Even in computation, where time is ideally measured very precisely, event based applications are extremely common, far more so than absolute or even exact relative time applications.
Time is computationally and culturally important because of the need to synchronize. But cross cultural synchronization of meetings is hard even at the basic level because prevailing attitudes of “On time” are different in, say, Germany, Spain, and China.
Richard Lewis has written about these cultural differences of time. Here’s a sample of some of his observations. https://www.businessinsider.com/how-different-cultures-understand-time-2014-5 https://www.businessinsider.com/how-different-cultures-under...
- blueflow 5y agoDid one of your pets ever die on you? You don't need clocks to suffer the consequences of time. I think you are conflating time itself and measuring it (clocks).
- pessimizer 5y agoI think you're conflating time and the death of pets. Time doesn't kill pets, we use the death of pets to mark time (like clocks.) edit: My cat died. Now, I can say that I moved house after my cat died, that I got my car before my cat died, or that I met Bill around the time my cat died. Dead pets create time.
- fourseventy 5y agoYes time kills pets...
- pessimizer 5y agoNo, a complex set of decay processes kills pets; time doesn't do anything. We label things that happen with time to organize causes and effects. You might as well say that time does everything, but that's mistaking the way you keep track of a thing with the thing itself. Time typed this comment.
- fourseventy 5y agoa complex set of decay processes that happens over time...
- podgaj 5y agoThe moment you say the cat is "alive" you create time and you also start killing your cat. In Buddhism there is no birth, no death. Both are illusions.
- achikin 5y agoCar crash is a good example. Speed is also perceived differently but you can tell the difference between crashing at 5mph and 100mph. The fact that brain “hides” some things from your conscience does not mean they don’t exist.