A quarter-horse jockey learns to think of a twenty-second race as if it were occurring across twenty minutes--in distinct parts, spaced in his consciousness. Each nuance of the ride comes to him as he builds his race. If you can do the opposite with deep time, living in it and thinking in it until the large numbers settle into place, you can sense how swiftly the initial earth packed itself together, how swiftly continents have assembled and come apart, how far and rapidly continents travel, how quickly mountains rise and how quickly they disintegrate and disappear.

Summary

This quote highlights the concept of perceiving time differently according to our experiences and perspective. It suggests that just as a jockey breaks down a race into smaller parts to navigate it effectively, one could do the same with vast expanses of time. By immersing oneself in deep time, one can gain a sense of how quickly geological processes like the formation and movement of continents or the rise and erosion of mountains occur. This perspective encourages an appreciation for the dynamic nature and constant changes happening on Earth over immense spans of time.

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