June 2: Time. Space. War.

I wish for the abolishment of time as we know it. The timepiece is a cruel mechanism demanding the allocation of human time into chunks far too small to be healthy. That said, clock mechanisms themselves are really, really cool to me. The aesthetic of gears and catchments, spinning, ticking, pulling, whirring; it’s all so lovely to me. 

While exploring Westminster Abbey, I came across the grave of Thomas Tompion, a pioneer in accurate timekeeping technologies. His pieces were made accurate by his own machinations, but they were made beautiful by the Huguenot workmen who crafted their faces. He was excellent in his craft, known today as the “Father of English Clockmaking”. He is an example of a person who dedicated his whole life to engineering, and in death is remembered.

If time is cruel, space is tricky. Where time is mostly a matter of perception for humans, space is a little more insolvent than that. To grapple with physical science for one’s whole life sounds to me like trying to count infinity: a Sisyphian task. Stephen Hawking was interred at Westminster Abbey not far from Thomas Tompion. His modern headstone is a lot cooler in my opinion. It shows a portion of his equation describing the radiation black holes emit, called Hawking radiation after the man himself. He committed much of his life to this work, and in death is remembered.

More tricky than space, and crueler than time, is war. The Grave of the Unknown Warrior is front and center at Westminster Abbey. Soldiers often don’t get the chance to spend a lifetime studying a particular topic. They aren’t afforded the time or the space. Seeing this grave, I feel fortunate for my opportunities to devote myself to art and science. To learn every day. To visit London to experience the best my craft has to offer and grow as a result. While the Grave of the Unknown Soldier is dedicated to World War 1 in particular, it evoked in me thoughts of all wars past and present. I doubt I will ever be called into service, but I know many who could one day. I dread the thought. If war ever comes our way, will we have spent enough time together? How far apart in space will it put us?