You can’t step into the same river twice.
That’s the quote in my head, along with a vague sense that it was some Ancient Greek philosopher who said it. Maybe without the contraction: I believe that, like the arrow of time which determines causality, the arrow of casual also goes in one direction only. (Is it a coincidence that causal and casual use the same letters? Probably. Let’s keep going.)
Tracking down this quote didn’t take long: it has a consensus attribution of Heraclitus, whom Wikipedia warns me not to confuse with people named Heracles or Heraclius or, even more likely, to mistake for other people named Heraclitus. They don’t say what keeps *them* from confusing all the Heraclituses. Are there a lot? It depends how you define “a lot” in terms of human names. I didn’t go to school with anyone named Heraclitus as far as I know, but times were different in the Ancient. Excluding the inanimate bearers of this name (a poem, a ship, a lunar crater, and some modelling infrastructure and no I didn’t go look to find out what that is I have my limits), there are 15 humans cited on their disambiguation page. We want the first guy, the pre-Socratic philosopher from Ephesus. So that’s that.
But on the internet that is never truly that. In this case, the Uncertainty Principle for quotations comes into effect. We don’t do physics here, except for an occasional foray into inertia and entropy, so I’ll just mention that the Uncertainty Principle for position and velocity of an object was discovered/invented/articulated by a 20th century German physicist, Werner Heisenberg. (Not by some other guy of the same name, if such there be.) So, although the source of the quote is not in dispute, the quote itself is. I am offered three versions:
- On those who step into the same rivers, different and different waters flow. #GoingForPoeticalEffectOrEmphasisRatherThanConcisionIGuess
- We both step and do not step into the same river, we both are and are not. #OhComeOn #ApproveYodaWouldNot
- It is not possible to step into the same river twice. #HahGotIt
That last one is close to what I learned and has a patina of presumptive Ancient Greek formality, so let’s go with it. It is not possible to step into the same river twice. Is it possible to step into the same riparian park twice?
This past week I stepped into, and all over, the Gilbert Riparian Park for the second time this winter. Was it the same? Let’s consider the evidence.
Where before I saw twenty or so black-crowned night herons, and great egrets actively feeding, and a stunning great blue heron, this time I saw . . . sparrows. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The same species, the same bird. They don’t even look different.
I saw . . . pelicans. Not that there’s anything wrong with *that*, except them being at a distance.
The same in their whiteness, but different in their species and gregariousness.
I saw an as-yet unidentified . . . ground squirrel. The only thing wrong with that is the squirrel part.
Possibly a rock squirrel but lacks the clearly defined white eye ring so prominent in others’ photos.
And I saw the elusive and difficult-to-photograph . . . verdin. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
So. Was it the same riparian park? Or do the different and different birds (and the squirrel) carry the day? It is a puzzle. I might have to go back to gather more evidence. I believe the Ancient Greeks were silent on the matter of stepping into the same river thrice.
Oh! My head hurts! Beautiful photos. Thank you.
Judith – Hahaha. I know, right? There’s a reason I didn’t take too many philosophy classes. Glad you enjoyed the photos.
Very funny, Isabel! Especially the squirrel part! Doesn’t it know that “only birds are allowed here”? Meanwhile, in sync with the Heraclitus banter, I wonder how often I am going to have to step into the same billowing snowbanks. I am reasonably sure they are the same because, unlike some other forms of water, they accumulate while expanding in height and width and density. Your photos of birds and bushes, rocks and sand bathed in sunshine that certainly is warmer than snowdrifts warms the heart and soul. Colour, especially the plumage of some birds, is very welcome. You shorten the distance to spring.
Laurna – 🙂 Enjoy! Spring is coming.
The Greek philosopher who said “You cannot step into the same river twice” was Heraclitis. I suppose you could also say, “You cannot take a picture of a bird in the same place twice.”
Tom
Tom – Yes, that seems to be true. The little beggars move around with little to no consideration for my travails.
Quite the dissertation to get to some nice photos, including the ground rodent
🙂
Isabel – I guess the rivers never went dry in Ancient Greece for what’s-his-name. I know for a fact that you can step into the same dry riverbed more that once, at least until the fall rains come again; but maybe I am being too literal.
However, I understand the intent. River water is like time, it just keeps flowing by.
John – I’ve seen lots of dry riverbeds in Arizona, too, but I’m guessing Heraclitus wasn’t familiar. 🙂 How nice it is that we can enjoy some literal quibbling while still taking his point.