Hi everyone, Bridget here. I'm excited to be in a physics class that will be mostly working with words and concepts rather than math :) I took a 2 physics classes in high school, but its been a long while.
I thought the description of M-time vs P-time was fascinating. As someone whose family lives in the Middle East, it really is remarkable how differently the society is set up, and I think a lot of it has to do with differing perspectives on time. Whenever I visit Iran, its the longest month of my life. Much of it has to do with the difference in pacing - the culture is collectivist rather than capitalist, and leisure/family time/time spent in community are what is centered as the most important things in life, rather than work/material gain/individual achievement. People have very deep connections with multiple generations of their families, and working for money takes up much less of the day. Waking up and going to work for a few hours, coming home for a long lunch and multihour nap, and maybe (or maybe not) going back to work for a couple more hours is common. It was interesting how uncomfortable I sometimes became with doing "nothing" all day. I'm used to a life that is scheduled and jam-packed, and I'm used to feeling a bit uncomfortable if I'm not actively working on "achieving" multiple goals at once. Time is relative, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have a wonderful time when you go back home. I liked you descriptions of the differences in the concept of time and how much of that is influenced by culture. Perhaps its the strong intergenerational connection in Persian culture that prevents the scheduling and multi-tasking that are parts of your life here. I wonder to what extent the lack of intergenerational connection contributes to the American concept of time.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete