Time and Space

Time

If you were to ask someone from the year 1900 to describe the year 2000, what one adjective would they use? This is a hypothetical question of course, as any knowledgeable adult living in 1900 has long since passed before the turn of this century. Do you think technology has made the world describable as: Safe? Fast? Shiny?

What if someone from 1600 visited 1900? One adjective. Would it be a positive adjective or a negative one?

Until now we could never ask such a question. The single direction of time and it’s unstoppable nature have made it impossible. Of course this is twentieth century thinking. As all of man’s achievements have shown, anything that we can dream - we can accomplish. One day a man dreamed that he would not have to feed a horse, hitch a team and clean the barn; and within a hundred years women (who can vote and everything) are piling six kids into a van and mechanically transporting them to their little league games without ever having seen a horse. Sure it sounded impossible two hundred years ago, but in the twenty-first century impossible is not a word, it is a challenge.

Moses did one thing more than any man before him or likely since. He walked. Moses led the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years, picking up camp and walking. No doubt he spent many sleepless nights looking at the starry heavens and wondering what stars were made of, how far away are they, and so on. Moses likely never dreamed of a car to drive around the wilderness in and certainly never dreamed of a spaceship that could take him right up to that glowing rock that lit his night sky. It was impossible.

The twentieth century taught us much about the world around us, and about our own abilities. As we entered into the twenty-first century man still has some things considered impossible. Perpetual motion? Impossible! Time travel? Impossible! Transport of matter through space? Wait a minute. Scientists are working on this and have already had limited success. Not transporting living things, a la Star Trek, but simple nonliving matter. And there is a team of scientists working in Munich on the feasibility of perpetual motion? Why? Because since CD’s replaced cassette tapes in the 1990’s, and the introduction of the DVD made videocassettes obsolete, impossible is no longer a word. Someone, somewhere is working on it.

One adjective. Compare 2000 with the year 1900 and use one adjective. Don’t think on the page and in a picture. This adjective cannot be expressed this way. Raised in the late 20th century , I have seen endless pictures of this continent being settled and the challenges faced by the pioneers in this country over the past 150 years. I have pondered deeply the atmosphere and surroundings of their world and ours. I have lived a hermits life for the past three years, largely supporting myself the way our ancestors did. Someone recently asked me to describe this modern world in three words or less. I need only two words.

“It's Loud”