Time and The New York Times

In Natalie Angier’s January 23rd article, Making Sense of Time, Earthbound and Otherwise (©2007 New York Times, Science), she writes:

"The long and short of the universe is just that, almost exclusively long and short, with the hyperclipped quantum clickings of the atom on one end and the chasmic lollygags and foot drags of the greater cosmos on the other."

Human rhythms she reminds us, are bound by the simple coincidence that we are born on a tilted planet, one which takes 24 hours to make one revolution around itself, and 365 revolutions to turn around the sun.

So, it appears the rhythm of life falls into place like a jazz fan tapping his foot to a cosmic pulse.

"Every cell of the human body pulses to a circadian beat, sucking in glucose, squirting out hormones, building up fresh proteins and breaking down stale ones, all in predictable swells and troughs throughout the day,” Angier continues, "–a rhythmicity that may help explain why we love music but still does not explain the lingering popularity of Bachman-Turner Overdrive."

I picture aliens on Mercury taking a week off from work every eighty-eight days, in order to celebrate the Winter Solstice with gifts, and sing in a New Year.