RadioLab: Time
I recently checked out this podcast on time. It touches on the usual topics that people discuss when talking about time: when did it get standardized, clocks/watches, relativity, etc. A more eloquent segment of a discussion you might have to suffer through with some middle aged dudes waxing philosophically, while affected by a certain type of psychotropic drugs and a 30 rack of PBRs. It also includes reactions from people, who had a chance to experience Beethoven’s “9th Symphony” slowed down to last a whole 24 hours.
I was not so much interested in hearing this but more of why it existed. But when I further listened, it tied the episode together, like a nice “time rug”. The overall theme is to describe how we all experience time differently depending on our perspective of it.
This is really interesting to me, because just the other day, I was wondering about my cat’s meow. It sounds so sweet and tiny. But was that because of how big I was? What if I was their size? I spent all day with that in the back of my head. Would it be a more menacing, dangerous roar, like that of a lion? Would it sound the same? I’ll never know. This podcast brought that back to me.
Another thing this reminds of, is the thought of how time seems to fly by once you get “older”. The more time has passed, to me, it feels like the faster it goes by. When I was a teenager, something like a school year, or a summer, a vacation, just felt like it lasted forever. Like time slowed down. But it has to be the same time I’m living on now, but why does it feel like it blows by? One of my theories is that it’s because the world was so new to me and I was still taking a lot of it in. My experience was savored more, at some extent. After a certain point, I was in my 30’s. Where did it go? Have I stopped learning? Is the key to making life slow down a little more is to have a mind that seeks learning the world? I’m not sure.
One really cool concept explored in this episode, is “Nancy Grows Up” in which a father records his daughter from when they were a baby until they turned the age of eleven. I’d be interested in doing something like this. It doesn’t really work with middle aged people, so I’d have to wait to have a kid. I will keep this in mind, if that happens.
If I were to keep a daily log of my day tho, if may go something like this:
My morning ringtone goes off, the song “L’Amour Tujours” breaks the morning silence.
I tip toe from the bedroom, through the kitchen, and into the bathroom. Flicking on the light, to fill my ears with a luminescent buzz.
Walking to the oven, I crank on the gas, the ignitor starts clicking, the flame catches. Starting the water for my morning tea.
The dogs realize I am a wake, and the rush into the living room. Their dog tags jangling and their toenails raking against the kitchen floor.
Making my way back to the bathroom, I’ve also awaken my cat, who is now meowing at me to fill her food dish.
I run the faucet, to warm it up, as I go for the cat food.
Splashing in the sink, I wash the sleep from my face.
I flip open my lap top and power it up, causing it to make a whirring sound resembling a plane getting ready for take off.
There are morning commuters, buzzing down the street, heading off to work.
The series of clicks commence, as I open the links and windows to my morning Zoom meeting.
My wife is awake, as she pops in the office to say “good morning”
I hear the teachers voice, as they greet the class, with the dogs crunching away at food, while I work in the office.
That’s the usual sounds of the morning.
Thanks for stopping in, also make sure to check out that RadioLab. It’s a treat.