In the light of Thompson Lamp

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Have you heard of the Thompson Lamp, which turns itself on for one hour, then turns itself off for half an hour, then on again for 1/4 hour, off again for 1/8 hour, on for 1/16 hour, and on and on until the time has been exactly two hours since the beginning? No one knows whether the lamp is on or off after 2 hours.

And wheras time is infinitely divisible, actions, thoughts, sensations, things that happen in time must be infinitely divisible also. How then are we able to sort through a rush of sensations (sounds, lights, temperatures…) and discern the intensity of each? How can we organize thoughts and plan actions, without drifting aimlessly from one divisible moment to another? When does an experience begin and when does it end if it can be subdivided infinitely?

But there is always a clock nearby, which goes tick-tock, tick-tock, and gives us arbitrary intervals through which we can perceive meanings and schedule meetings. Even the visual purple inside our eyes becomes temporarily blind when it has too much, and so our brain must be constantly sorting through a series of broken images.

Perhaps to a poor human being, all things happen in time are only meaningful when measured in discrete units. Thereupon, every meaningful thing can be digitalized.

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