Time

updated 2024-06-16

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All the drawings from the rest of this page, overlayed over one another - largely illegible, primarily ornamental.

Notes on time. Always incomplete.

A visual reflection

A drawn rainbow line with periodic little eraser lines through it and party emojis spread along its length.

we track four seasons, but some cultures track many, many more

holidays were centered around the seasons, with seasons derives from the natural rhythms of the land

A four-color line representing the fours seasons from left to right overlapping with a green zig-zagging line representing nature's random continuity.

nature has its own rhythms

A meandering purple-blue-green rainbow line, with a full-rainbow line diverging from it and then reconnecting with it later down the line.

and so do our bodies

(substances can change them)

A rainbow spiral with several multi-colored concentric circles in its center.

all of these, whether over the course of seconds, days, months, years, or eaons, are themselves cycles

(“time is spiral” https://soundcloud.com/charleshayward/time-is-spiral)

A yellow stick figure on the left with a long arc leading to another stick figure on the right.

reincarnation

A long flat line with a single stick figure it its center.

linear time

A pair of drawings. On the left, a stick figure with many multicolored arcs forward and backward coming from a white stick figure in the center, with dreams written above. On the right, an arc forward and an arc backward from a white stick figure in the center, with deja vu written above.

does time pass by us,

or do we traverse time?

A multi-color dotted horizontal line that, halfway through, recursively diverges at many angles, some dotted, some curved, still all going generally from left to right with an arrow on the end.

multiple timelines? the multiverse?

A large white circle at the center. To its right and left, a large half-dotted circle. Another layer outward, a pair of fully-dotted circles that are stretched infinitely to a point or line at their far edges.

cyclical time

time is infinite

Two drawings: the first is of several adjacent circles and ovals, each of different length but with the same height. The second drawing, below, is of several medium-sized circles, with the outer ones being incomplete.

cycles of different lengths and perceived speed

cycles of different sizes

Crude drawings of a computer, pickaxe, and laptop.

time perception changes based on the task or situation

A dotted line where each dot or line is progressively longer.

as we get older, time seems to pass more quickly

A ruler with major ticks and minor ticks, from left to right. Immediately below it, a series of icons showing the phases of shadow passing on a sphere (e.g., the earth, moon, or sun - it is not specific) at each major tick. Above, to the upper right, a plane traveling from right to left, with a horizontal bracket howing it traveling backwards along the ruler.

we use science to have a shared measurement of time

when you cross timezones, you time travel, sorta

A set of icons arranged horizontally: either a series of dots or a series of gold rectangles, always in groups, switching back and forth between them.

and we use that measurement of time to commoditize labor, making it possible to assign a value

Natural time

Ever since I started sending out my newsletter on the solstices and equinoxes, I’ve felt more connected to the seasons, and to the Earth. Life feels more cyclical - or perhaps, in combination with the domainant linear time our society now experiences, more like a spiral.

Another way to deepen the cyclical is finding time (no pun intended) to see sunrise and the sunset each day.

The sun sets orange light
Upon the rugged path, bright
Soon to rise again.
– “It Sets,” by me

Many (all?) cultures used to experience the passage of time in concert with the changing of the seasons. But there weren’t always only four - even in the West - and some Eastern cultures recognized as many as 24, sometimes called “small seasons.” Farmer’s almanacs, like this contemporary one, also bring us back to our agricultural roots.

Political time

What time is it on the clock of the world?
– Grace Lee Boggs

Alt calendars

We’ve got 12 months and 365 days in a year, 7 days in a week, 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes make an hour, and 60 seconds to a minute. It’s the standard because, well, the whole point is to keep everyone on the same page (wouldn’t want people just picking what time it is). But there are other possibilities. Here are a few examples of modern/intellectual alternatives:

Happy new year to all who still observe linear time!
– kimberly r. drew, Something I Saw, January 12, 2021

Examples where the calendar and time do not change, but they are show differently inclde Roman numerals, decimal time, and the HEXclock.¹

Three painted rectangles denoting the end of a path.

Not to mention the small differences that can drive international teams crazy… ↩︎