Geological Time Scale Metaphors

August 25, 2015 3:46 PM

Imagine that the entire history of the earth is (number) (unit) long. . .
posted by curious nu (8 comments total)

The classic analogy for illustrating the relative durations of parts of the geologic time scale is the yardstick

That may be the old classic analogy. The new classic analogy, as laid out by both Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson in two Cosmos series, is the Cosmic Year.
posted by hippybear at 3:55 PM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]

Either way, my reaction to stuff like this is always "It really does not matter if I go into work today. Or ever."
posted by The Card Cheat at 4:10 PM on August 25, 2015 [4 favorites]

If the entire history of the earth is metafilter until now then the first homo sapien appears here and the entire recorded history of humanity begins somewhere between this thread and the immediately preceding one.
posted by dng at 4:12 PM on August 25, 2015 [9 favorites]

I like to use the analogy of the 50-foot tapeworm from Nerd of the North's bear story in a previous thread, and humanity is the tiny bit of poo stuck to the end of the tapeworm.
posted by perhapses at 8:04 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

I always use McPhee's, from Basin and Range (IIRC):
"Consider the Earth's history as the old measure of the English yard, the distance from the King's nose to the tip of his outstretched hand. One stroke of a nail file on his middle finger erases human history."
posted by qldaddy at 4:21 AM on August 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

Love this.
It's unclear to me why the calculated numbers are all in textboxes, though.
posted by dmd at 9:48 AM on August 26, 2015

dng: "If the entire history of the earth is metafilter until now"

Where are the MetaFinosaurs?
posted by Rock Steady at 1:27 PM on August 26, 2015

Last updated in 2000, and still best of the web...
posted by Rumple at 11:01 AM on August 27, 2015