Time difference: 0.01 sec. (17.3 cm)
Time is an abstract idea. Nevertheless it plays an
important part in daily life, maybe more than any other concept. It is not only
interesting for physicists but everybody has an idea of time and every culture,
too. This is not surprising for time structures life, not only on a personal
level but also on a social level. The structuring power of time can be
explained, I think, by a feature that I mentioned already in my last blog: Time
develops continuously in one direction and never stands still. This makes that
every decision involving time must be a good decision for it cannot be
reversed. Actually, it is true for each decision, anyhow, for each decision
takes place on the time dimension, but when time is an essential aspect, it is
more true than when time is only of secondary importance. In case I turn left
on a corner where I had to turn right, I simply return and continue on the
right way. Usually this mistake has no important consequences. However, when
time is a primary factor in a decision it is different. Just such decisions are
often crucial in life. A farmer must decide when to sow; too early or too late
can end in a poor harvest. A driver must brake at the right moment; too late
can cause an accident, too early sometimes, too.
These examples show the relevance of time in momentary
cases, but there is also a long run significance of time. The recurrence of
seasons does not only affect when a farmer has to sow but also what to do next
in the course of the year after the setting. It is the same when a youngster is
thinking about her career. A decision on her future profession determines not
only the contents of her study but also the time path to her goal. Moreover,
she must realize that once the decision has been taken and the education has begun,
it is difficult to reconsider it. Often schools accept only students of a
certain age, grants are not given above a certain age, and when she ends her
study too late, it will be difficult to get a job. Also a government that
prepares an estimate does not only divide the money among the departments; it
has to present the budget at the right date as prescribed by law; take care
that the money can be spent; and that the money really will be paid, for
instance. In short, on every level of life − both on an individual level and on
a social level − time planning plays an important role; short-term and long-term.
As we have seen, we can decide on our time, for
instance when we make a time planning, but time can also decide on us. Time is
always developing, and when we do not take the right decision at the right
moment but too late, whatever the reason may be, time works against us. This
can also be so when what happens is beyond our power. To take a Dutch example,
a dike subsides because it has been undermined by muskrats. The tide is coming
in and we have only two hours to prevent the polder behind the dike being flooded.
But we need at least five hours for closing the hole: Time works against us.
This makes me think of an incident after the 500 m
race in speed skating for men on the present Winter Olympics. All participants
have already long careers behind them. Once it had become clear that they had
the talent of becoming top skaters, they started to plan the training through
the years hoping to become finalists in the Games: How to train when and where
and in which races to participate in order to have a chance to be there. It
involved a global time planning for the years to come, later to be filled in with
a more detailed time planning. Long run time planning and short run planning
were made to fit. And then they are really there: thirty skaters who are the
best of the world on the 500 m. Most of them skate the best races of their lives.
They couldn’t skate the two heats faster in those conditions. They skate in
pairs and the winner of the first heat starts in the last pair. He finishes,
sees his time and shouts with joy: The gold medal is for me! For my overall
time of both heats is better than the overall time of the winner of the second
heat. But a few moments later ... disappointment,
for during his race the time of the latter had been corrected, which makes that
not he but the winner of the second heat has the best overall time. The
difference is just a tiny one hundredth of a second over two races, so over
1,000 metres in total. A mere one hundredth of a second in time decides on a
gold medal, on the career of a speed skater and maybe also on the course of the
rest of a life.
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