Einstein once said every young man should spend some time as a lighthouse keeper in order to have lots of solitary opportunity to think and ponder the universe. Clearly, he spent a lot of time thinking, including postulating "Gedanken" - thought experiments. That's probably how he figured out most of his great theories by thinking about "what if ...". I've had lots of time to think too but I guess I'm no Einstein, I haven't discovered the Unified Field Theory yet - but I am thinking about time.
Out here, man-made concepts of time don't mean much; seconds, minutes and hours are meaningless. Time is measured in the progression of the sun through the heavens, the phases of the moon and the endless movement of the boat, the wind and the water. Time seems to just stop and short periods of time are indeterminate. Einstein proposed time is relative and he was right about that too (even if I am traveling a lot less than the speed of light!).
I apologize if I'm getting too philosophical but I once went to a presentation by Harrison Schmidt, the only geologist to walk on the moon. He talked for an hour about the potential to mine Helium 3 on the moon and make a profitable business. I don't remember any of the detailed technical aspects of his talk but I do remember at the end he asked for questions and one guy stood up (after lots of facts and figures) and asked a question from left field: "So what was it like to actually be on the moon?" Schmidt became much more philosophical and told how the thing that impressed him the most was how every time he climbed out of the LEM and every time he looked up in the black sky the Earth was just sitting there in exactly the same spot, never moving. That's what most of us came to the presentation to hear about and probably the only thing any of us remember (although his proposal was interesting).
Ok, now for the boring facts and figures:
I have traveled 490 miles in 125 hours for an average speed of 3.9 knots.
At this rate I will arrive in Hiva Oa on day 30 (but I really hope to pick up the pace once I get into the trade winds).
Sorry, I couldn't resist. After all I am passing over Mathematicians Sea Mount (really, look it up on the internet if you don't believe me).
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2 comments:
I actually find the boring facts and figures pretty interesting. So I guess you've travelled 490 nautical miles if you're giving your speed in knots, right? Dad was always very clear about the difference between knots and mph. I wouldn't want to screw it up...
Dave your insight is ALWAYS welcome. Best wishes to you my frinend
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