TICK TOCK: COUNTING DOWN THE MINUTES
written by ISAAC LAW & ETHAN TANG
edited by SAMANTHA LAW
It was 12:30 when Lok started his lunch. The cafeteria was cold and callous, although there were still some people enjoying their meal, nobody talked. No sound at all, as if everyone was mute. The usual serving of fried rice filled his lunchbox, a plethora of shrimp and pork and vegetables on the side. His box of rice humbly lay there, as he chews on the crispy fatty pork with grains of rice in between his teeth. No one was there, nothing, not even a mobile phone. Him and time.
« Are New Yorkers that quiet? »Lok thought as he shoved a lump of rice down his throat, or am I just late?
artwork by CHELSEY DAI
He glanced at the clock that hung on the wall. It was 12:31. The second hand casually walked around the outskirts of the display; Occasionally, the minute hand would move a fraction whenever the second hand reached 12. The hour hand remained stationary as if it were glued on. The second, the minutes, the hours slowly let go of reality, one by one vanishing to an endless void called time. Lok was mesmerized.
Infinite, countless precious moments, lost in this parallel universe, he thought. But what is time?
To simply phrase it: it’s inconclusive. Time: one of the greatest mysteries of existence. Here’s a longer, more complicated answer:
Myriads of modern scientific ideas illustrate 'time' as a critical measurement, a variable, a dimension, or a factor. Specific and General Relativity are among them. It encompasses Quantum Mechanics theories, including the String Theory. In Newtonian Mechanics, time is percieved as a fundamental universal component. In Entropy Theory and ThermoDynamics, time separates states.
One of the issues is that each of these ideas has a different perspective on time. Perhaps the most enigmatic aspect of developing the Holy Grail of Science, a GUT (Grand Unified Theory) or TOE (Theory of Everything), is devising a theory that addresses time in a way that is consistent with all other theories. Entropy and Thermo-Dynamics equations, for example, are the only ones that give time a distinct direction (The Arrow Of Time), indicating that time can only flow from past to future, from cause to effect.
As a result of connecting everything to the speed of light, relativity offers us a 'rate' of time flow. The equations of Quantum Theory function just as well when time moves 'backward' as they do when it moves 'forwards'. The Quantum Theory addresses some key statements about the precision where time (and position/mass, etc.) may be measured. So, if you want to comprehend 'Time', you'll need to start by studying the aforementioned theories above.
However, the explanation above may be a little bit wordy and hard to understand. Moreover, we could also interpret it through a real-life example - aging. An inevitable but natural phenomenon. From the sperm to the womb, to the baby to an infant; to an adolescent traversing through adulthood, from earning a driver’s license, to getting married and eventually watching your grandkids grow until your demise. The period of your existence is time.
Here’s another example. How did we become at the top of the food chain?
It can be explained by another phenomenon - evolution. We descended from ape-like predecessors (such as the species Homo Erectus, Homo Habilis, Homo Neanderthalensis, and of course, Homo Sapiens) through a period of transformation known as human evolution. Data suggests that most physical and behavioural attributes shared by humans were developed over a six-million-year period from our ape-like ancestors. Genetic alteration modified us as a species to a general way of existence, including what we consume, how we grow, and where we dwell throughout time. New genetic variants in early progenitor groups encouraged a new ability to adapt to environmental change, resulting in a shift in human lifestyle. The uncountable occurrences of such shaped the emotional and sensitive personified as you.
Now, back to the cafeteria in New York. It was currently 1:30, Lok was robotically scraping his metal lunchbox and placing the empty spoon into his mouth - it appears that he was hallucinating so hard he forgot that he had already finished his lunch! Suddenly snapping into reality, he accidentally dropped his spoon on the floor. Clang! Embarrassed, he picked it up and surveyed his surroundings. The cafeteria was empty.
How long have I been here? He thought.