Sublime

In the grand scope of history, Africa time, Alaska time, and Aboriginal time are normal. For the vast majority of our history, people have lived with a time sense that was circular, flexible, expandable, fluid, contextual, organic, and seasonal. Time was rich, mysterious, and alive. The default pace was easy and casual.

Until the last tick of history’s clock, cultural transmission meant oral transmission, and poetry, passed from mouth to ear, was the principle medium of moving information across space and from one generation to the next.

human project

This message goes to the heart of the deep-time perspective. On the one hand, it serves to extend our imaginations from a short now to a longer now, where Homo sapiens are here for little more than an eyeblink of cosmic time. We are merely bit players appearing on stage for the briefest moment in a story stretching over aeons. On the other hand, it