Monday, December 10, 2018

Time and relativity

 Fourteen days till Christmas. Two weeks. Where has the time gone? It is a question I find myself asking more frequently, guess that is what old folks do. The grandkids are fifteen, sixteen and seventeen. I don't believe they have dreams of sugarplums dancing in their heads. I'm not saying they aren't looking forward to Christmas but the excitement level isn't exactly soaring. I got out some of my decorations, just not feeling the whole thing this year, but have discovered I'm just fine with that. Every year I find myself more content with Christmas memories than Christmas presents. Another sign of time passing. It's not a sad thing, more comfortable than anything else. The familiar is a comfort and certainly less work. Thinking of work, my porch is being worked on, so no outdoor decorations this year. I don't mind that either. All in all 2018 hasn't been a stellar year. I'm not one to say I'll be glad to see it go, you shouldn't wish time away because you can never get it back. It's just that I recall more negatives than positives.
 As for the time thing I got to thinking about that when I heard a kid on television remark, I'm 12 and a half. I had to chuckle remembering when I would have said something like that, a few months was a big deal. When we are young like that a week seems to last forever. Waiting for Santa Claus, interminable. School lasted forever although summer seemed an lot shorter. I was one of those kids that got bored with summer and was ready to go to school. I did enjoy the company. I wouldn't say I had a lot of friends but I was friendly with everyone. The difference between a freshman and a senior was a large gap. Four years! That sure seemed like a long time but now I expect a good pair off shoes to last that long. I know I have belts and socks older than that. That gap remains for a while after high school and into college. At some point it sort of disappears. Now a difference of ten years is considered as, we're about the same age. Time and relativity, Einstein had his theory and I have mine. I don't think time is the constant, it speeds up and slows down. It starts out real slow. Time is relative to circumstance. Now we can't control circumstance, that is effected by the actions of others. Sometimes it is your relatives that do that, but let's not get distracted here. All we can do is react to what's happening around us. In the case of aging we can't control time, it's a circumstance. All we know about it is that it begins and ends. Well at least that is what we see and experience. Time marches on is an old adage but I'm thinking it is lead by circumstance. There is the problem of history. History happened in another time, time gone by. But history repeats itself  is another old adage. So that means time is circular. Now, try to follow me here; in a circle the speed and distance you travel is relative to the center of that circle. An axle turning at ten revolutions will spin a wheel whose outside edge will spin in proportion to the radius! The outside edge of that wheel will travel a greater distance than the center which is stationary. So I'm thinking the closer we move to the center the slower we turn, but time speeds up, that's why we see it going by so fast. What we need to know is what is the center? Is the center heaven? Does time stand still there and pick up speed the further you travel from that center?
 Well anyway, my thoughts have wandered off a bit. Two weeks till Christmas and three to the end of another year. Time sure does fly. I wonder if you can venture from the center and travel to anytime you wish? Time travel has always fascinated man, maybe it is as easy as going back to the center and starting over. Maybe that is what happens when we die. Maybe then we can create circumstances favorable to those we love. Maybe that is what angels do. But then wouldn't Angels be in constant conflict with one another? Hey, maybe they are. But having knowledge of time and relativity would give them an edge. So maybe not. I'll have to work on this theory some more. Einstein assumed the speed of light as the constant. That's why he thought time travel may be possible. What if the speed of light isn't constant though? What if you could change that, change the circumstance. Different circumstance leads to different results. Well, I guess I'll find out in time. Time waits for no man. You either lead, follow or get out of the way.   

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