User:Brad Bishop/draft1

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The Moment

Sunsets and sunrises may last only for a few seconds or several hours (even days!), as in the arctic regions of the North and South Poles. The most spectacular point in time during a sunset (or sunrise) is known as "The Moment" of the Sunset (or Sunrise). "The Moment of the Sunset" (or Sunrise) is defined by each individual person observing the sunset (or sunrise) and often is a measure of color(s), shadows, intensity, serenity, boldness, and/or other visual contexts. "The Moment" of a particular sunset (or sunrise) varies with the location (GPS-position or Longitude/Latitude) of the observer. Even people standing right next to each other may disagree on the actual time of "The Moment" due to personal preferences, atmospheric conditions, obstructions, visual enhancements, etc. Often, "The Moment" may appear to occur, only to be out-done by a better "The Moment" a few seconds/minutes later. The one definitive rule is that "The Moment of a Sunset" (or Sunrise) can not be determined for sure by anyone until AFTER the entire sunset (or sunrise) process is completed. "The Moment" may occur before, during, or after the sun passes through the horizon. By definition, there can not be more than one "The Moment" for any one observer. Conversely, there may be many "The Moment"'s as defined by many people. If an un-biased observer (e.g. newspapers or television news services) were to graph "The Moment" as defined by several people, even thousands or millions of people, an average or median time of "The Moment" can be statistically determined. Reporting of such an average time of "The Moment" shall always include the method by which the results are tabulated, the specific location on which "The Moment" is being reported, and care to acknowledge something to the effect that, "Your individual 'The Moment' may vary". The history of "The Moment" includes a multi-year search by Brad Bishop (retired Silicon Valley high-tech executive; working in Fiji) for the most descriptive name, culminating in "The Moment", as proposed by Greg Hoberg (retired high-tech executive; attended Stanford University) and witnessed by Eric Bergan (Phi Beta Kappa, Graduation with Distinction, B.A., Philosophy, Kansas University) on 02DEC05 (FijiFiji Time), the birthdate of the term. Though previously never officially named, other descriptive words for "The Moment" included: apex, pinnacle, peak, optimum, height, epitome, climax, etc. "The Moment" was first submitted to the public domain through the unprecedented disclosure via Wikipedia.com on 29OCT06. Mr. Bishop was the same person who proposed to name the Earth's Moon on April 2, 1990 to the Working Group on Planetary System Nomenclature at the Committee of International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Abstract: "The Moment" is an existential (link to: Sartre, Kierkegaard, et. al., although Nietzsche is a notable dissenter) experience that is relative, but still importantly, valid for each unique individual. Care must be taken to avoid the trap that early 20th century English philosophers fell into of "situational ethics", or in this case, "situational Moments". What is clearly commonly held, and hence irrefutable, is that any individual, having experienced a time encompassing a significant portion of a Sunset (or Sunrise) will be able to clearly recall and vividly describe the single point in the event ("The Moment") which was the epitome of that Sunset (or Sunrise). While not empirically capturable, this universal experience indicates event(s) of significant import. Therefore, "the Moment" is, in fact, something of true human experience, and so in need of nomenclature.

Concept: We have all experienced the joy and awe of watching the ebb and flow of a beautiful sunset. Whether alone or with friends and family at our sides we marvel at the changes in shape, color, texture and aura that occur. We follow the evolving show through its many acts and usually at the closing-curtain feel that we just watched something special. It's hard to articulate, but somewhere during the unfolding drama, one moment of the sunset stands out. The moment when everything was "the best". The moment when that sunset communicated to us at a deeper level.