Vitrifying Velocity

Summary

The article "Vitrifying Velocity" explores the concept of aging through the metaphor of velocity in physics, suggesting that individuals have control over the trajectory of their lives and can influence the aging process.

Abstract

In "Vitrifying Velocity," Ivan Yong Wei Kit delves into the physics of motion to draw parallels with the human experience of aging. He posits that while the beginning and end of life are beyond our control, the path we take in between is not. By comparing life's journey to kinematics, Yong suggests that velocity, or the speed and direction of our lives, can be managed to maintain youthfulness. He references Galileo's groundbreaking work on motion to challenge the conventional belief that aging means inevitable decline, arguing instead for a mindset where one can remain youthful even as they grow older. Yong's perspective encourages readers to redefine aging and embrace the possibility of sustaining youth throughout their lifetime.

Opinions

The author believes that we can exert control over the "motion" of our lives, much like how we can influence the velocity of an object in physics.
Yong draws a parallel between the trajectory and outcome of an object's motion and our life's ambitions, hopes, and plans, implying that we can shape our aging process.
He views kinematics, the study of motion without considering the forces behind it, as analogous to life itself, suggesting that our focus should be on the journey, not just the forces that drive us.
The article challenges the Aristotelian notion that aging is directly linked to the loss of youth, proposing that we can remain young at heart and in spirit as we age.
Yong emphasizes the importance of renewing our understanding of aging, akin to how Galileo's Tower of Pisa Drop Test renewed our understanding of gravity and motion.
The author's stance is that youthfulness is not solely a physical state but also a mental and emotional one that can be sustained throughout life.

A Geometry of Ageing

In life, we neither have control over what causes us to be born nor what causes us to age. However, what we do have control over is the “motion” of our lives.

We can, in most part of our lives, decide the trajectory that it will take and the desired outcome that we would like to have. Now, if motion can be likened to the path of our lives over a period of time, surely velocity would best describe aging.

Four hundred years ago, Galileo Galilei, the renowned Italian astronomer, physicist, and mathematician was enamored by the motion of objects. His work laid the foundation of the study of kinematics (Beggs, 1983); a study of the motion of an object without considering the forces that led to its movement. In layman’s terms, kinematics is disinterested in what causes an object to be in motion but how will the object travel: kinematics bears an uncanny resemblance to life itself.

What is then velocity?

Put simply, velocity is the speed of an object in a single direction. In drawing a parallel with aging, the movement of an object from one position to another would refer to matters of our lives; our ambitions, our hopes, or our plans. The traveling time of the object would then denote the duration of time that we spend to realize them. By adopting this definition, aging must now be viewed in a different light; that we are able to take initiative in the process and not merely as a bystander lamenting the inevitability of growing old.

Renewal of the Mind

What is then the meaning of “to be young in an aging world?” The answer may be found in the velocity formula. It is well worth our time and effort to vitrify velocity so that we may examine it like a glass; transpicuous and lucid.

One of Galileo’s greatest achievements was in dispelling the sacred Aristotelian truth that the velocity of a falling object is proportionate to its weight. By dropping a tiny musket ball and a humongous cannonball simultaneously in his famed Tower of Pisa Drop Test, he categorically proved that objects fall at the same velocity regardless of their weight.

Today, we, the world, holds an assumption on aging that is ripe for a falling test of Galileo; youth is ephemeral and non-redeemable once lost. We must now begin to renew our understanding and postulate the fact that we are able to remain young while we age; we are able to sustain youth throughout our lifetime; we are able to be young in an aging world.

To be continued.

Ivan Yong is an organizational psychologist, engineer, author, and startup angel investor. He is the Head of Global Social Responsibility Initiative Workgroup for European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC), the Founding Vice President of SRI (Social Projects) for EMCC, Asia, and a published author with the book titled, “Department of Startup: Why Every Fortune 500 Needs One” by BEP New York.

Vitrifying Velocity

The Elixir of Ageless Ageing (Part 1 of 5)

A Geometry of Ageing

Renewal of the Mind