Comprehending exponential timescales is one of the greater challenges of the human mind. As Brent pointed out:
You need a thorough understanding of the multiple levels of computing. Programming requires understanding more levels of complexity than a mathematician, physicist, chemist, or structural engineer.
Cosmology and astrophysics as well require similar comprehension of scale from atomic fusion to stellar and galactic furnaces, and to a lesser extent geology depends on understanding the vast ages of the planet and universe.
Magnitudes such as these are difficult to understand fully, which I think contributes to the continuing challenges in the classroom over the theory of evolution. A majority of Americans do not fully accept the implications of common descent, preferring views which maintain a special status for humans, partially because it is difficult for most people to conceive of a time when there were no humans! Thinking about the world ten million years ago is daily work for a geologist, but it is nearly inconceivable for many others.
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February 6, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Christine
I read elsewhere on your blog that you entered NaNoWriMo. (Warning — shameless plug follows.) I am an instructor at Misque, a juried writer’s retreat for authors with complete (or nearly complete!) novels, who want to take the next step and prepare it to be sent to agents and editors. Now, I haven’t read your fiction, but based on the quality of writing in your blog, I’m sure you could get in. I would love to have you there.
If you think you might be interested, check out http://misque-writer.com/ or email me at misque-writer@misque-writer.com
February 7, 2008 at 3:27 am
Dan
“Thinking about the world ten million years ago is daily work for a geologist, but it is nearly inconceivable for many others.”
I’ve heard that the prevailing view of the Greeks was that the universe was static, unchanging, and very old. I wonder why the Christian young-world view of the Universe was at one point seen as more convincing, and how that paradigm shift occurred…
February 7, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Lana
Humans (insecure creatures at best,) have an unreasonable NEED to feel “special.” After all, god allegedly created us in his image (ironic, really, considering the opposite is true…but I digress.)
Ultimately I realize that the only time that truly exists (as my puny, human mind comprehends it,) is now. The past & future are but illusory constructs (yes, we may see or touch evidence of the past, but we’re still experiencing them in their current states, not their past ones.) Only NOW exists in reality.
February 8, 2008 at 11:41 am
Jacob
~Dan: That’s an interesting comparison of cosmologies. The classic Greek view you mention claims the Universe is static and infinite–not just old, but ageless. Young Earth creationist views differed not just in the recent age of the planet but in the fact that the Universe itself had a beginning; interestingly enough, though scientific inquiry has rejected the ~6000 year old dating for the Earth’s formation, our prevailing Big Bang theory of the Universe’s origin actually has a lot more similarity with the unfolding Christian cosmology than the static Greek cosmology.
~Lana: Indeed, now is the only point in existence at any time in reality. The need for people to feel special, though, often creates the illusion that now is the apex of all that has occurred, which can sometimes lead to a false justification of entitlement (e.g., to consume resources without limit).
February 8, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Dan
Jacob,
Ah - perhaps I misunderstood Greek mythology a little bit - but what about the birth of the Titans and other creatures from the union of the Heavens and Earth?
February 8, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Jacob
Early Greek mythology does include creation accounts of the gods and the earth, with some general ambivalence as to whether or not the Universe itself is eternal or created. With the beginnings of philosophical inquiry, though, the eventual prevailing Aristotelean view of the cosmos included belief in an eternal Universe.
February 8, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Lana
Jacob; Yes, this is unfortunately true. <:(
February 9, 2008 at 4:01 am
Dan
Jacob,
That’s a good point - although I wonder whether the Aristotelean view was prevailing with Greek society, or merely with the philosophers. If the latter, that doesn’t seem too much different from the situation that exists today, where the prevailing view in society is for a creation, and the view amongst academics being for a more refined and detailed Aristotelean view, etc.
February 9, 2008 at 11:27 am
Jacob
That’s certainly a possibility, Dan. Personally, I doubt that belief in Greek mythology mirrored the literalism found in present-day conservative Christianity, but you’re probably right that this cosmological view prevailed primarily with the intellectuals.
After awhile, though, scientific paradigm shifts trickle down to the whole of society. Almost no one alive today would claim the Earth is flat; eventually (I hope) the same will be said of evolution.