There are ten days that don't exist in history. Understanding why leads to a fascinating look at the nature of time—and how humans subdivide their lives.
My favorite part of this wonderful story, the essence of which I learned from a great junior high school history teacher more than 60 years ago, is the outcry among Calvinists (as I recall) in England and colonial America in 1752. Believing in that their last days were divinely predestined, they protested the shortening of their lives with the motto, “Give us back our eleven days!”
Really looking forward to this, Brian. I hope you will consider putting excerpts on some form of streaming service in case I miss some. But thanks nonetheless!
Brian, no wonder I have sensed a rip in the fabric of space and time. Days appear, then disappear or simply never happen. I feel like I am living it everyday.
But in all seriousness, the way we measure time, or anything else such as temperature or price levels require a baseline or reference point (or maybe multiple reference points). In the case of the Julian calendar, it was the trip around the Sun and solstices. In the Gregorian calendar it was Easter (which also must match Passover and the Jewish calendar).
No pun intended, but all time and measurements are relative...to a specific reference point or two. In fact we did not “change time” we simply changed the reference.
Thanks Paul. You’ll like a piece I’m working on now -- which won’t be ready for a few weeks -- but it’s all about measurement. I’ve learned a ton while researching it.
Looking forward to it, Brian. We tend to think of measurement and anything numerical as absolute rather than relative. And that is where we get into trouble at times.
This was a really fun read, Brian - ya had me going for a minute on the missing 325 years...😉
My favorite part of this wonderful story, the essence of which I learned from a great junior high school history teacher more than 60 years ago, is the outcry among Calvinists (as I recall) in England and colonial America in 1752. Believing in that their last days were divinely predestined, they protested the shortening of their lives with the motto, “Give us back our eleven days!”
Really looking forward to this, Brian. I hope you will consider putting excerpts on some form of streaming service in case I miss some. But thanks nonetheless!
I’ll try to make a recording available to paid subscribers after the fact. But...I’m not sure how I’ll do that yet. Stay tuned!
Brian, no wonder I have sensed a rip in the fabric of space and time. Days appear, then disappear or simply never happen. I feel like I am living it everyday.
But in all seriousness, the way we measure time, or anything else such as temperature or price levels require a baseline or reference point (or maybe multiple reference points). In the case of the Julian calendar, it was the trip around the Sun and solstices. In the Gregorian calendar it was Easter (which also must match Passover and the Jewish calendar).
No pun intended, but all time and measurements are relative...to a specific reference point or two. In fact we did not “change time” we simply changed the reference.
Thanks Paul. You’ll like a piece I’m working on now -- which won’t be ready for a few weeks -- but it’s all about measurement. I’ve learned a ton while researching it.
Looking forward to it, Brian. We tend to think of measurement and anything numerical as absolute rather than relative. And that is where we get into trouble at times.