I n the end, the maj o r i ssue fo r the third m i l - lennium is i ndeed the issue of the regime of periodicity in an 'aeropolitics of time' that would not, all the same, negate the geopol itics of the origi n al settli ng of the Earth and the C ITY, that has turned into a WO RLD-CITY, TH E O RIGINAL ARK OF TOMORROW. Here, a metaphor springs to mind - of ocean navigation, with the invention of first the m echanical clock and then the o n-board chronometer.
If the sky is indeed a monumental clock, that doesn't make it easy to decipher, desp ite the co mpass and the sextant and ASTRO LAB E. For, if we can calculate lati tude by observing the height of stars above the horizon, longitude, on the other hand , can ' t be verified except by co nsidering the time diference between two diferent points o n the globe. That requires the use of the chrono meter, whereas the 'wheelhouse hourglass', very like a speedometer, merely showed a ship ' s speed , with the aid o f a log, that invisible lifel ine lying submerged at the end of a piece of stri ng, gradu ated i n kno ts. 1
THE GREAT ACCELERATOR
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