I just finished a fascinating book, "A Geography of Time." In this book Robert Levine tasks you on a journey exploring something we take for granted... time. But what Levine reveals is that it is not so much time, as it is our perception of time that we take for granted.
Looking through the lens of both how other contemporary cultures and historical cultures perceived time he forces us to stop and reflect on our own cultural perceptions, as he notes, "there is nothing like studying other cultures to inspire questions about one's own."
Why did people historically set up duels for sunrise? We may perceive it as a romantic notion of chivalry, the truth is that sunrise was one of the few times of day that you could actually schedule a meeting with any degree of accuracy prior to "clock time" or time "of the clock" (o'clock).
Did you know that...
It was just after the first mechanical clocks began marking the hours that the word "speed" (originally spelled "spede") first appeared in the English language. Not until the late seventeenth century did the word "punctual," which formerly described a person who was a stickler for details of conduct, come to describe someone who arrived exactly at the appointed time. Only a century after that did the word "punctuality" first appear in the English language as it is used today.
A culture's perception of time is often the greatest frustration for a traveler from another culture, Levine cites numerous examples from his own experience.
Fun fact: in the 1880's there were approximately 50 different time zones in the United States.
After reading this book I'm left wondering what it would be like to not be ruled by the watch. I'm also struck that the phrase "time is money" ties a value to time that it perhaps doesn't warrant. Could it also be stated that "time is relationships." Can we actually waste time? Or do we actually use all our time, even it is as down time?
A thought provoking book well worth reading.
