Rudra asked me - "Daddy what is Future?". We were only two people in the room. I was trying to finish my Mojitos and
watch a random friday flick on TV. Rudra was busy playing and thinking about impossible things.
Between the dialogs I responded "Future is time that is yet to come". Then he came and sat next to me and persisted with his line of questioning. I was giving him curt responses, when I could. Then I realised that something more important was happening right in this room. So I turned the volume down.
By now Rudra had challenged me to explain future without time. I think at this point I was trying to explain today is present, tomorrow is future and yesterday is past.So in the next few minutes I tried to explain the concept in more ways while Rudra was seeking clarification.
Rudra then was able to link this conversation with concept he was familiar with - Days of the week. He even went further to deduce that future repeats it self, as the days do. I was frantically searching for a Calendar to show that days do repeat but date, month and year do not. Our further conversations diverted to when is Christmas and Halloween.
Today I was just wondering how easily we pass our own preconceived notions as truths. The calendar itself is our interpretation of measure of time and each calendar has an arbitrary reference point. If we all agree we can make today any hour, day, date or year. We do this type of exercise for daylight savings don't we?.
Coming back to future - what is future, how do you define it, from where did you learn this concept, what misconceptions will you choose to spread when some one asks you Daddy what is future?
There is another way to look at it consider what you are investing today now for your uncertain future.And what stories have you brought into?
Anyways when I checked with Rudra today about our conversations on future got point blank response - I don't know. In few years who knows what we as society will teach him
© Ratish
Between the dialogs I responded "Future is time that is yet to come". Then he came and sat next to me and persisted with his line of questioning. I was giving him curt responses, when I could. Then I realised that something more important was happening right in this room. So I turned the volume down.
By now Rudra had challenged me to explain future without time. I think at this point I was trying to explain today is present, tomorrow is future and yesterday is past.So in the next few minutes I tried to explain the concept in more ways while Rudra was seeking clarification.
Rudra then was able to link this conversation with concept he was familiar with - Days of the week. He even went further to deduce that future repeats it self, as the days do. I was frantically searching for a Calendar to show that days do repeat but date, month and year do not. Our further conversations diverted to when is Christmas and Halloween.
Today I was just wondering how easily we pass our own preconceived notions as truths. The calendar itself is our interpretation of measure of time and each calendar has an arbitrary reference point. If we all agree we can make today any hour, day, date or year. We do this type of exercise for daylight savings don't we?.
Coming back to future - what is future, how do you define it, from where did you learn this concept, what misconceptions will you choose to spread when some one asks you Daddy what is future?
There is another way to look at it consider what you are investing today now for your uncertain future.And what stories have you brought into?
Anyways when I checked with Rudra today about our conversations on future got point blank response - I don't know. In few years who knows what we as society will teach him
© Ratish
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