Flower Clock (Work in progress 5)

No time

Whenever I come to the point where I think that there is not enough time, and whenever I meet people who claim the same, I think of Master Ryokans wonderful words:

Ich ging hin, um Reis zu erbetteln.
Aber der blühende Buschklee
zwischen den Steinen
ließ mich den Grund vergessen.

I went there, to beg for rice.
But the blossoming bush clover
between the rocks
made me forget the reason.

Flower Clock (Work in progress 4)

Flower Clock (Work in progress 3)

Temporal Priority Principle

The temporal priority principle tells us that causes must precede their effects. Unlike Terry Pratchett's reannual grapes that have to be planted in the future to grow backwards in time, we have to plant our crops in spring so that they grow in summer and can be harvested in early autumn (to talk about climate zones with four seasons).
However, I tend to write about concepts before I really understand them. This is great fun although it might annoy some true philosophers of time.
At the moment I am reading about the role of time perception in developmental psychology. I am not surprised to see names like Piaget and Gelman and...wait a moment...I have to stop because I have to watch a movie.
These are two independent actions, independent of cause effect relationships and therefore much more interesting to consider. What shall I do first?
See. It is much more difficult than let's say the question: Shall I drop dead before the bullet hits my brain? Will the apple fall down before I let go?
This gives rise to the subjective temporal priority principle with considerations like: What will my wife do if I continue to read philosophy literature instead of helping her with the movie?
These considerations introduce some sort of moral causality on a very low level. As I have no clue about ethics I will stop writing and finally watch the video.

Chronobiology

The discipline of chronobiology tells us a lot about our inner rhythms. The existence of genetically inherited chronotypes and its distribution among the population lead to some conclusions for the individual and for politics.
The political consequences should be at least:

• Later start of schooldays, especially in countries where it starts at 8 a.m.
• Better individual arrangements of shift work
• The end of changing the clocks for summer-time

However, the main problem here as well as in other areas is the unbelievable inertia of politics regarding scientific insights and wisdom in general.
We prefer socially grown values and myths to solid experimental data.
Sad but true.

The Classification of Dawn

Do you remmeber the seminal movie "From Dusk Till Dawn"? As your mind recalls the story from crime to vampire, I have to ask the crucial question: Which dawn?
In tropical lands this question is useless of course, because dawn is very short. The sun rises quickly and the light travels with it.
Far away from the equator things are different.
There is the astronomical dawn with the sun 18° below the horizon. It is not so dark anymore, whatever that means. Seemingly some lux crawl across the horizon.
Then there is nautical dawn, with the sun 12° below the horizon. You can already identify the horizon.
Finally civil dawn comes along, the sun 6° below the horizon. The light is bright enough for outdoor activities.
Ten minutes ago I didn't know that. Now I do and it fascinates me. Of course the same classification must work for dusk. I am looking forward to the movie "From Nautical Dusk To Civil Dawn" or maybe "From Civil Dusk To Astronomical Dawn" or...

However, dealing with time, I am glad that there is more to a sunrise, than the grenadine syrup.