Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Time’s Arrow - Missing Link 7

In episode 6 of the Missing Link, we have already enjoyed Scott Lough relating to us the history of time. Episode 7 takes this essay to a culmination and is entirely dedicated to it - rightfully so.

My favorite description of time and it's slipperiness (is that a word?) comes from Thomas Mann's Der Zauberberg (The magic Mountain), where aside other observations it is simply reminding how time flies when you are having a ball and creeps all so slowly when you are bored. However, when you look back at the thrilling times, that flew by, they seem so filled, it is as if a lot of time went in that streak. Contrary to that, when you look back on the tedious, empty, slowly passed time, all is so uniform, it seems so little time that has passed actually.

Lough adds to history philosophy and makes things worse. Time could stop, could run backwards and could, altogether, be a figment of our imagination. From a point of view of common sense, you'd assume we live in a continuous flow of time and space, but this podcast essay makes the foundations shiver, without attacking common sense for a moment. I absolutely love this project by Elizabeth Green Musselman. A great and innovative (history) (science) podcast, everybody should know about.

More Missing Link:
On Time and on Counting - The Missing Link,
Strength in Numbers,
Constant Companions,
From Berlin,
History of Science.

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