Time and Time Again

Time. We have heard, read, seen and experienced many types of time. Our three main types of time, are they independent of each other, or do they all in fact work dependently? Time, like anything based in science, is truly subjective. This poses a real challenge in trying to dissect our lives into these theories of time.

Most of us have somewhat predictable lives. We have our general schedule (especially considering that we are all students). In this instance, we generally all fall under teleological time. We go through our days, from one action or event to the next. This leads us to our degree, our promotion, our calling, etc.

As we saw last week, it does not come without disruptions. The weather disrupted our schedules and our routines, throwing a good portion of us into what some would consider chaos. But we have all heard of “weather patterns.” Arguably, one could argue that everything, no matter how “chaotic” it seems upon initial view, falls into a pattern. If this is true, then does entropic time truly exist on its own? Something can be said to the old verbiage, “Expect the unexpected.”

Somewhere in the middle lies stellar time. How many of us recognize the “random” situations in our daily lives, and the short to long term effects it has on them? But I wonder, is it random? Our mindset does in fact affect our interactions and their consequences. Does this once again fall into an intermediary of patterns and chaos that seem to somehow all work together?

I suppose I’ve raised more questions than answers. Time, to me, has no answer. It is mysterious and far beyond modern human conception. Physicists all over the world and over multiple centuries have tried to answer this. These three types of time to me are indicative of Western thought. No one’s life will ever fit mostly, or somewhat, into any of these three. For in reality, we are a constant cycle of all three.

The question remains - is time chaotic chronology, or a pattern of chaos? If there is one thing that The Garden of Forking Paths made me question, it is our one or the other mentality. We can, do, and continue to exist in many different ways. I believe, like the text, we exist in an all AND none environment, simultaneously.