It's about time

What is it about time that fascinates us so much? Perhaps we are challenged because time is not resident in any particular object that we can hold, but we can see its effects when we stare at the sweeping second hand, at leaves turning a color for another cycle of the seasons, or at the face of an old friend whom we have not seen in years. We become aware of time if we are forced to sit still, or look at speeded-up or slowed-down (time-lapse) photography, film, or video, but most often when we see the world in motion, dynamically evolving. Philosophers, poets, physicists, painters, and psychologists have spent their lives analyzing the etiology (causes and beginnings), ontology (essence), eschatology (end), and epistemology (what we can know) of time. Across most civilizations, cultures, and historic epochs, analysts and synthesizers (that is, designers) have tried to explore what we understand about time and how we can use this knowledge.