What is Event-Based Time? | Vera da Silva Sinha | TEDxVienna

 

How would you think about time, and organize your life, without watches, clocks, phones and calendars? You might be surprised to know how this is possible. Learn about the event-based time concepts of three traditional, indigenous communities of Brazil. Vera da Silva Sinha has worked for many years as an anthropologist and linguist researching indigenous cultures in Brazil. She works closely with other researchers, including some who are native speakers of the languages. She will explain how time based on events in the natural and social environment governs life in three Amazonian communities. Time is not tracked by using clocks and calendars that divide time into months, hours and minutes. Instead, time is thought and talked about in terms of events and their completion. Vera will also show how in these cultures PAST and FUTURE are thought about and spoken about, using metaphors such as “the past is in my heart” and “the future is in front of my eyes”. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx