First some of my favorite quotations to introduce my thoughts ....
“Most discipline is hidden discipline, designed not to liberate but to limit. Do not ask ”Why?“ Be cautious with ”How?“ ”Why?“ leads inexorably to paradox. ”How?“ traps you in a universe of cause and effect. Both deny the infinite.” [The Apocrypha of Arrakis -- Heretics of Dune]
“At the quantum level our universe can be seen as an indeterminate place, predictable in a statistical way only when you employ large enough numbers. Between that universe and a relatively predictable one where the passage of a single planet can be timed to a picosecond, other forces come into play. For the in-between universe where we find our daily lives, that which you believe is a dominant force. Your beliefs order the unfolding of daily events. If enough of us believe, a new thing can be made to exist. Belief structure creates a filter through which chaos is sifted into order.” [Analysis of the Tyrant, the Taraza file: Bene Gesserit Archives -- Heretics of Dune]
“There is no single set of limits for all men. Universal prescience is an empty myth. Only the most powerful local currents of Time may be foretold. But in an infinite universe, local can be so gigantic that your mind shrinks from it.” [Paul Muad’Dib]
“Time does not count itself. You have only to look at a circle and this is apparent.” [Leto II (The Tyrant) -- Chapterhouse: Dune]
As you can see, all of these are from various sources in the Dune saga. Of late, I have found myself in many heated discussion in various usenet forums about the relative ~quality~ of the various books in this saga. There is a definite divide between the Frank Herbert purists and those that judge each work on both their own merit and their place in the larger saga. Unfortunately, many of these exchanges--because I am loathe to call them discussion--quickly de-evolve to little more than name-calling and virtual dick-sizing. So, rather than attempt, once again, to engage in an intelligent discussion on usenet, I'm opening up my study to a discussion about ...
The Importance of Time
For those of you that are just interested in my general thoughts, but don't want to continue through to the end of a ~long~ post, my thoughts are this:
Time is generally perceived as a force (hindrance v. aid), a constraint ("all the time in the world" v. "no time now"), a convenient marker of progress, or a universal constant.
Time is also personified in a number of ways: the Powers' measuring tool; Destiny; Past, Present, and Future; something / someone to be controlled.
Time is poorly understood or explained.
Time very much wants to be seen for what it is. It does, in fact, care how It is perceived.
First a little explanation about the first quote. You've probably guessed by now that I choose to ignore the warning that it contains. I agree that both "How?" and "Why?" place limits on the Infinite, but I do not believe that they deny its effect(s) or presence. These questions, and others, are simply a means of resolving and understanding the Infinite.
For me, Time is very much a force or entity in my life. Sure, I measure its progress just like most other people: seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. I also measure according to lunar cycles (there are 13, or so, in the standard "year"), cycles in my own life (13 comes up again as important changes), and the extended references of BC / AD and BCE / CE. The latter one is "Before Common Era" and "Common Era" and is a common measure in Anthropology. I have to wonder if my measurement and perception of time is nothing more than an attempt to force patterns onto something. Or is it something more complex?
Psychologist and other investigators into the human experience state that humanity's ability to recognize patterns and connections is one of the many factors that separate us from non-humans. Although I accept that, to a point, I also believe that these observations suffer from a very basic flaw in comprehension.
We, as a race, make our own definitions for what makes us human based on our collective experience. Just because we haven't (yet) found a way to communicate and share experience with other species, does this identify our experience as "different" and "separate" from non-humans.
I know I'm wandering .... please ride out the train *smile*.
With regards to time ....
We tend to live more of less the three score and ten that one Holy Book promises. Houseflies have an average lifespan of less than two week. One's family pet may last anywhere from months to decades depending on the species. Elephants can live to be 70 years or more and some species of tortoise and turtle have been recorded in the hundreds of years.
I find it hard to accept that humanity is the only species that ponders, investigates, or measures time. Our limited understanding of these other species would seem to suggest that many of them have "rituals" or methods for marking time and important passages in their lives. Do other species wonder in the same way that we, as a species, do? If not, might it be because they understand the nature of time and co-exist with it?
I have often, less so now, fought with the constraints of time. When I was a young school lad, I used to have a very personal way of picturing the year. If you draw a straight line the length of a piece of letter paper:
Draw a line 1/4 of the way from the beginning of the line -- this would be January to June.
Draw a second line about 2/3 of the distance from the first line - this is July and August.
The remainder was September to December.
My ~perception~ at the time was based on two things: how much I was expected to do versus the amount of "free" time that I had. Over the course of my school years, I also found that the great span of July and August also reflected my level of boredom *smile*. By middle school, I had already consumed our family's collection of Encyclopaedia Britannica, several "version" of the English dictionary, and every book that my Mom and Dad had (in English) that covered archaeology, history, religion, and other assorted interests. I was reading and comprehending 4 grades above my "level" and ~very~ bored with my math instruction. One can only dissect a triangle so many time, you know. I remember being very excited each and every year as Labour Day approached because that meant that I could finally return to a classroom and discover what these outside teachers had to share with me.
Throughout this period, I always seemed to be waiting for time to either speed up or slow down. I was rarely pleased with the pace of Time and spent an enormous amount of energy chastising and complaining about it. It was rarely "convenient" for me, it barely managed to mark important events in my life, and it certainly seemed to have a will all of its own.
One thing I realized at that early age was that my perception of time was not unique. Mom and Dad share(d) similar concerns with it; I didn't begin to understand how our various perceptions meshed until ~much~ later in my life.
Another important part of the puzzle, for me, was that although my thoughts on Time changed and matured with the passage of time *g*, my basic beliefs and responses to it haven't.