distance and time (absence II)

Apparently space and distance aren't one and the same. Well, sort of. Distance is a quality of space, and it's probably how we most often think about space: space is something between objects. The space between two things is a distance.

Distant stars.
Distant memories.
You're so distant right now.

Distance suggests a position in space relative to another. These positions are not necessarily fixed, mind you, but if there's a distance perceived then it's safe to say that the objects in question are separated by space (and possibly more). I guess I could be talking about particles, but I'm not. I'm talking about us. So, the space between objects, is really the space between subjects. Ahhhh....

There's a theory out there that distance is equivalent to a period of time (D=cT). Intuitively (read: subjectively) I know that's true. It takes time to cross a distance. It takes me 40 minutes to walk to work, 10 on the bus, and about 7 by car. And yet, it's the same distance. The difference, of course, is velocity. If I move faster, I arrive earlier, pretty reliably.

So, what about impassable (or impassible) distances? Those literal and figurative gulfs in space-time that keep us apart, like borders, traffic jams, bad cell reception, or an utter lack of empathy. How do we reconcile distance-time with the barricades of our own making and unmaking? What keeps us from each other isn't space. Is it?

I suggested to the people involved with TEDx Waterloo that communication technology not only makes the world smaller, it also compresses time. We fit more in because space isn't the kind of barrier it once was. We can do all kinds of things remotely because information moves so quickly.

And yet, I feel like my cell phone and twitter and facebook are no surrogates for the presence of another person. As there's less and less time, there is more and more distance... but that would mean there is more space.... which actually kind of makes sense. We've invented virtual space (yet another opportunity for distance and absence) where time is negligible because our commtech gets closer and closer to light-speed.

The faster we talk, the further we get from each other.
I think I'd rather go the distance.