When I was in graduate school, our major professor taught a little course to us. It was in the use of Fortran, a computer language. He wanted us to produce a computer program that would take any two dates and immediately tell us how many days they were apart. The man was tricky and would change the details of the assignment whenever he wished. We realized he might furnish days that were very far apart. In researching the history of the calendar, we found that Pope Gregory had adjusted the calendar on the advice of his astronomers. In 1582, he declared the day after October 4 would be, just one time only, October 15. Over time, some people have been very upset to "lose days" of their lives because of a calendar adjustment.
Today, I read about an event in 1894 in which an explosive device badly injured a man near the Greenwich Observatory in England. The injured man had made the device but it exploded in his hands. It isn't clear what the man intended but it may be related to another misunderstanding about the nature of time and what, if anything, can be done to control time's flow.
Today is June 7 and is the anniversary of the day I landed in this town over 50 years ago to start teaching. I had taught 5th grade for 4 years, then earned a PhD in testing, measurement and experimental design and was ready to begin teaching undergrads and graduate students.
Time flows on and I suspect it is better that way. I am not clear about what might be an improvement. It could be that aging and having time pass as it seems to do quite nicely on its own is the best arrangement. I was younger and it was a good time. Now, I am older and it is a good time. I am very confident that even clean living will not result in my living another 50 years.
