Is it a sign of simple-mindedness or outright chicanery when folks try to purposefully deceive themselves? Inside they know the truth full well, yet externally they move on with life as if everything is normal. I am speaking specifically to the trick that countless folks play on themselves where they set their watches ahead of the actual time in order to help them get to their appointments with some degree of punctuality. They figure that they cannot get to where they need to be on time, that they are always late, maybe because they are undisciplined, or slow and lethargic, or unsatisfied with the folks in Greenwich. Who can tell? They somehow have come to believe that if they modify the time in their local coordinate system, i.e. offset their timepieces from the reality the rest of us know and understand, they can somehow improve their probability of being on time to their tea socials, or county fairs, or wherever the heck it is they are going. They figure that if they strive to hit their time marks in their own, redefined world, they will actually hit the mark in the time reality that the rest of us follow. To me, this sounds like some wacky modification of Einstein's theory of special relativity. I am concerned with people who think that they can just simply claim is it some arbitrary time, just by adjusting their watches or clocks or grandfathers. I strongly feel that the canonical time of our world is non-negotiable. Folks should not be able to re-adjust reality willy nilly. If they are habitually late by 10 or 15 minutes, why don't they just stop what they are doing 10 to 15 minutes early, or get up 10 to 15 minutes earlier, or leave 10 to 15 minutes earlier? Are you one of these shameful "people" who tries to outdo Einstein and cheat time? Don't you realize that he was a German master with a wild hair style? Come on people. I'd explain it to you but I am running late.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Relativity, Relatively Speaking
Is it a sign of simple-mindedness or outright chicanery when folks try to purposefully deceive themselves? Inside they know the truth full well, yet externally they move on with life as if everything is normal. I am speaking specifically to the trick that countless folks play on themselves where they set their watches ahead of the actual time in order to help them get to their appointments with some degree of punctuality. They figure that they cannot get to where they need to be on time, that they are always late, maybe because they are undisciplined, or slow and lethargic, or unsatisfied with the folks in Greenwich. Who can tell? They somehow have come to believe that if they modify the time in their local coordinate system, i.e. offset their timepieces from the reality the rest of us know and understand, they can somehow improve their probability of being on time to their tea socials, or county fairs, or wherever the heck it is they are going. They figure that if they strive to hit their time marks in their own, redefined world, they will actually hit the mark in the time reality that the rest of us follow. To me, this sounds like some wacky modification of Einstein's theory of special relativity. I am concerned with people who think that they can just simply claim is it some arbitrary time, just by adjusting their watches or clocks or grandfathers. I strongly feel that the canonical time of our world is non-negotiable. Folks should not be able to re-adjust reality willy nilly. If they are habitually late by 10 or 15 minutes, why don't they just stop what they are doing 10 to 15 minutes early, or get up 10 to 15 minutes earlier, or leave 10 to 15 minutes earlier? Are you one of these shameful "people" who tries to outdo Einstein and cheat time? Don't you realize that he was a German master with a wild hair style? Come on people. I'd explain it to you but I am running late.
