From: Howard Engelskirchen (howarde@TWCNY.RR.COM)
Date: Wed Jun 02 2004 - 12:35:45 EDT
Hi Jerry, As I said to Paul just now, I have to run, and maybe my question has nothing to do with Ajit's question anyway, but in order to know whether it does, we have to get a bit clear on the issue of measuring time. I was not really concerned with how well we measured time or whether the way we measure can be effectively standardized. I'm more concerned with knowing what a clock is. We seem to use this result or that result to refer to the passage of time, some of which we call clocks, or primitive clocks. Clocks seem to be a time embodying mechanism, don't they -- the release of the spring tells us a quantity of time has passed. What about grains of gold? Not passing through an hourglass, but just their weight? Why can't I use them to tell time? Howard ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gerald A. Levy" <Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM> To: <OPE-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU> Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 11:36 AM Subject: [OPE-L] (OPE-L) Re: Ajit's paper > Hi Howard. > > > Do I have to measure time by a clock? Can I measure it by distance > > travelled, > > Not unless the speed that you are travelling remains constant (and you > are travelling in a straight-line without any obstructions or counter > forces, e.g. current). > > > or dinner being ready, > > Surely you must know that different cooks take different amounts of > time to prepare dinner. Even the time taken to prepare dinner by the > same cook depends on what's being cooked for dinner and with what > technology. > > > or by the quantity of a thing, say sand passed through an hourglass? > > That's just a primitive form of clock. > > > Can I tick away seconds in grains of gold? > > You would have to calibrate the 'hourglass' differently, but I guess you > could substitute grains of gold for sand. Another type of clock. > > Now what does any of this has to do with Ajit's question? > > In solidarity, Jerry > > PS: I bought some dried mango and will bring it with me to sea as > per your suggestion. No, one can't measure time by the quantity of > dried mango consumed at sea. One can measure time, though, by > observation of the sun and moon and related phenomena, e.g. tides.
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