How long's a lifetime?
Comets, the Olympics and all our little shortcuts
Halley’s comet – a periodic comet that orbits the sun, is visible once every 76 years. Sightings of its green and red glow date back to 467 AD. If you're lucky, you can catch it twice in a lifetime.
Halley’s comet was last here in 1986, and it’s projected to return in 2061.
The Olympics roll around once every four years – roughly the lifespan of a domestic hamster who’s had a good innings. Notably more frequent than Halley, but an achingly long wait – perhaps half a lifetime in elite athletics.
Why every four years? The cycle honours the origins of the ancient games, which were held every four years at Olympia. That interval between editions was called an ‘Olympiad’. It was used for dating purposes at the time, time being counted in Olympiads rather than years.
In the context of a celestial lifetime, four years is nothing. Just dust. An Olympiad actually represents less than a fraction of a million-second. And yet, it’s what separates gold from silver at the 100m finish line.
How we measure time changes. Between cultures and civilisations. In our own lifetime. How we manipulate time to gain – seemingly – more control over the little we have, changes too. If we punctuate the mundane with experiential novelty and newness (over scrolling and buying stuff) it sometimes feels like we’ve cracked it. But for how long? That’s a rhetorical question btw. Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even.
“We get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.”
― Paul Bowles, The Sheltering SkyVintage Seinfeld
[ ref. Is this anything? ]
Time Save
We all try and save time
All our little shortcuts
But no matter how much time you save
At the end of your life, there’s no extra time saved up
You’ll be going,
What do you mean I’m out of time?
I had a no-iron short,
Velcro sneakers,
Clip-on tie:
Where is that time?
It’s not there.
Because when you waste time in life, they subtract it.
Like if you saw all the Rocky movies, they deduct that.
So, you’ve gotta be careful.
Enjoy your time today.
Watch the Rocky movies. Catch the 1500m final. See the moon rise.
You’ve covered all bases.