On the paradox of time and Bada man

Imagine, if you will, of time as a continuum.

There is a thin band which represents now.

Before that, there is the past.

And after the present is the future.

All very simple, of course, and visually it should look like this:

The thing though is this: how thin is the band which represents the present?

After all, it cannot be that wide can it?

In fact, if you think about it, the band must be very narrow indeed.

Infinitely narrow.

Or in other words, it cannot actually exist.

And if this band cannot exist, then there can logically be no such thing as the present.

But if there is no present…

All very confusing of course, and I sometimes do wonder where time has gone over the years.

It doesn’t seem long ago, for example, that I was hiking in the Bada Valley of the Lore Lindu National Park in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

This is a beautiful and verdant place which is home to hundreds of megaliths of undetermined age but which undoubtably far predate any Hindu or Buddhist remains found in Java or elsewhere in Indonesia.

Virtually nothing is known about these megaliths. Who built them? How? And why? The Wikipedia page provides virtually no information whatsoever.

One site I came across on the web, however, puts forward two possible theories.

The first and only plausible theory put forward is that the megaliths were somehow constructed by humans who migrated to Sulawesi when sea levels were far lower than they are now, meaning a sea journey was feasible.

And the other theory?

Well, that they were built by aliens.

I think I know what to believe!

A huge Bada Man megalith in Central Sulawesi. No one knows its significance but he seems to have a fondness of his private parts. This photo was taken in 1993, 30 years ago.  I can’t remember too much about the trip, but I can still recall the boat ride across the huge Poso Lake from Pindolo to Tentena.  It was also a time when Indonesia’s national parks weren’t ‘monetised’ like they are today and you didn’t have to pay for any ‘rent seeking’ hiking permit. Locals even made available a free alcoholic drink called balok at certain points on the trek, which they placed in hollowed out bamboo cylinders. No wonder I can’t remember too much! Haha!