Like Sand Through the Hourglass

Damn the scientific method and it's fundamental quantities!

I've been thinking a lot about time recently. Its one of those subjects that can really mess with you. What makes time so confusing is that you cannot define it. You can only measure it. Its hard to even describe time without making reference to time itself. A second is what exactly? The best definition of a second available uses a relative term: 'oscillate' Which in mathematics may or may not imply periodicity.

Not to mention our abstract brains have two methods of trying to comprehend time. One being the passing of intervals (ie seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc). The other being a broader application designed to help comprehend the passage of all existence. Chronology of time if you will.

Its a similar problem I have with language, where the definition is really just a synonym. If you keep looking up definitions, eventually you are bound to get referred to the original word you sought to understand.

Similarly, the dictionary definition of 'tautology' contains its own tautological error.