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Stephen Jay Gould examines the phenomenon of the millennium. He looks at the origins of the term in the Biblical prophecies of the Book of Revelation - if the six ages of man date from 4000BC, will 2000AD signify the end of time? Gould describes how the meaning of the word has evolved to its present day usage and tackles the debate over whether the millennium ends in 1999 or at the end of 2000AD. He also questions the human compulsion to impose our time-schemes on the universe and wonders how far can we go in applying our mathematical principles to nature. Existing methods of calculating time are all flawed to some extent and yet the complexities of lunar months, leap years, and the calculation of dates such as Easter, are part and parcel of our fascination with calendrics as both a hobby and an occupation.
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In this slender volume, Stephen Jay Gould addresses three questions about the millennium with his typical combination of erudition, warmth and whimsy: As a calendrical event, what is the concept of a millennium and how has its meaning shifted over time? How did the projection of Christ's 1,000-year reign become a secular measure? And when exactly will the millennium begin--January 1, 2000 or January 2, 2001? "Our urge to know is so great, but our common errors cut so deep. You just gotta love us," he states disarmingly in the preface. "And you gotta view misguided millennial passion as a primary example of our uniqueness and our absurdity--in other words, of our humanity." Gould's own curiosity about time and calendars was triggered by a 1950 issue of Life magazine, which cut the century in half with its evaluation of what had happened and its prediction of things to come, propelling his third-grade mind to the year 2000. In Questioning the Millennium, Gould promises to make no predictions (other than "an orgy of millennial books"); court no millennial epiphanies; and put forth no theories on the collective angst that typically accompanies a century's end. Instead, he answers the millennial questions which, for him, represent the intersection of undeniable reality (natural fact) and human interpretation. Gould's questions and learned answers, weaving many historical and scientific facts, are a loving inquiry into the human need for order in a vast and teeming universe.
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"The approach of the millenium elicits all those responses in Stephen Jay Gould which make him today's finest spokesman for the joys of science. The rationalist in him is horrified yet fascinated by the tradition of "Apocalypse soon" prophecies...What is clear from this splendid book - crisp, clever and chirpy as ever - is that Stephen Jay Gould will go down as one of the real turns of the century." (Roy Porter Independent)
"Questioning the Millenium tackles our eternal fascination with round-numbered years from a whole range of historical, philosophical and scientific viewpoints...If you are going to buy one millennial stocking filler, but this one." (David Jessel Scotland on Sunday)
"Gould not only enriches the texture of his writing with each successive phase...He would not be the great science writer that he is if he were not also a great humanist." (Marek Kohn New Statesman)
"Gould's personal interest is as exuberant and authentic as ever, and one good reason for it is offered by an epilogue which both fascinates and touches, and is best left as a surprise." (Michael Viney Irish Times)
"Questioning the Millenium tackles our eternal fascination with round-numbered years from a whole range of historical, philosophical and scientific viewpoints...If you are going to buy one millennial stocking filler, but this one." (David Jessel Scotland on Sunday)
"Gould not only enriches the texture of his writing with each successive phase...He would not be the great science writer that he is if he were not also a great humanist." (Marek Kohn New Statesman)
"Gould's personal interest is as exuberant and authentic as ever, and one good reason for it is offered by an epilogue which both fascinates and touches, and is best left as a surprise." (Michael Viney Irish Times)
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- PublisherVintage
- Publication date1999
- ISBN 10 0099283328
- ISBN 13 9780099283324
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages224
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very good. In this new edition of Questioning the Millennium , best-selling author Stephen Jay Gould applies his wit and erudition to one of today's most pressing the significance of the millennium. In 1950 at age eight, prompted by an issue of Life magazine marking the century's midpoint, Stephen Jay Gould started thinking about the approaching turn of the millennium. In this beautiful inquiry into time and its milestones, he shares his interest and insights with his readers. Refreshingly reasoned and absorbing, the book asks and answers the three major questions that define the approaching calendrical event. First, what exactly is this concept of a millennium and how has its meaning shifted? How did the name for a future thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ on earth get transferred to the passage of a secular period of a thousand years in current human history? When does the new millennium really January 1, 2000, or January 1, 2001? (Although seemingly trivial, the debate over this issue tells an intriguing story about the cultural history of the twentieth century.) And why must our calendars be so complex, leading to our search for arbitrary regularity, including a fascination with millennia? This revised edition begins with a new and extensive preface on a key subject not treated in the original version. As always, Gould brings into his essays a wide range of compelling historical and scientific fact, including a brief history of millennial fevers, calendrical traditions, and idiosyncrasies from around the world; the story of a sixth-century monk whose errors in chronology plague us even today; and the heroism of a young autistic man who has developed the extraordinary ability to calculate dates deep into the past and the future. Ranging over a wide terrain of phenomena--from the arbitrary regularities of human calendars to the unpredictability of nature, from the vagaries of pop culture to the birth of Christ--Stephen Jay Gould holds up the mirror to our millennial passions to reveal our foibles, absurdities, and uniqueness--in other words, our humanity. 208 pages. Seller Inventory # 1489399
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