The Depths of Time

Imagine they had never invented a clock, or a sundial. What would we do? How would we know when to get there, or if we were running late? No one would ever be anywhere on time. It pickles my brain just thinking about how disorganised everything would be. I don't think we could cope. And I want to know who invented the clock and why everyone decided to listen to their idea of how many hours and minutes there should be. I should think it was a bit of a rush job, seeing as they could only think of twelve names for numbers so we had to use them all twice in one day. But otherwise a rather good invention.

If we had to live by guessing the position of a shadow of a tree of something, the margins of error in that are shocking. You couldn't run classes, or catch trains. There would be no opening times and lunch hours. We would, quite simply, be living like beasts. Relying on our stomachs to tell us when its mealtime. How terribly unfortunate that would be.

There has to be another way though. Otherwise, some quick thinking wise guy has earned himself a very good name for not having a great idea, but the only idea. I would like to think that there is more than one way to look at everything. Like marmite. Thats a big 50/50 really. But this. This is complex. Pure migraine material. And I'm your man (woman doesnt sound as good).

So looking at it from a day length point of view, from sunrise to sunset. The day would always be a different length dependant on season. And if we look at it from a sunlight percentage point of view, we have to consider clouds, rain, fog, things passing in front of the sun, and eclipses. That wouldn't work either.

Maybe it is all about counting. All about rhythm and pattern. Of course, it has to be to keep things steady, organised, functional. If there was a counting man. Who counted all the seconds up. No, a computer counter. Which counted all the seconds up. And a bell went off everytime it had reached every 10,000 seconds then we all have to change what we are doing to the next thing. No, damn thats still time though.

I think time just happened. I don't think anyone could possibly have just invented it, surely not. The clock seems to have just been a way of displaying said time. A way that everyone could keep time the same as each other if they attended the same pilates session or book club. I think that the clock man, was probably a very clever man after all, but I don't think he deserved the credit he got for creating time. Although I'm aware now that it probably was just me giving him that credit. And upon noticing this, I am realising that my mission to out-do the man who held all of time in his fist.... was probably a bit rubbish. And I should probably look for something else to try and win at.

I bet Google could have told me this without the headache.