Natural sciences are labelled as the exact sciences. Already in the beginning of engineering studies it is taught that life is full of measurement errors, weighted average basis (or without gravity), standard deviations, standard figures etc. Sometimes the Earth´s gravity acceleration is taken to the equation. Sometimes we just float on earth (theoretically only).
This, partially abnormal, measuring of the natural system is called the measuring technique or -studies. Due to these uncertainties one should treat with certain caution all the measurement results that the media is feeding us.
An example: The Summer Solstice
The longest day in 2022 on the Northern hemisphere falls to the 21st June. The culmination time is 12:13, standard Moscow time that we adopt today in Finland as the daylight saving time, too. (N.b. It seems, that Moscow cannot save anything else!)
To my understanding the solstice is a like a moment on top a hill, and then we start to plunge to the darkening ravine of the autumn.
Various scientific journals and also less civilized media have their news about the summer solstice. The moment of solstice is announced as some kind of estimate, due to the fact that the exact moment of the solstice is different in every garden and balcony. Even in the vast wilderness of Lapland there is the solstice, yet the sun is shining two full rounds of your wrist watch per 24 hours!
One would assume that the 22nd of June would have a bit shorter daylight than 21st of June. Wrong! That is not the case at least in Turku and a much young town established to a peninsula in the east. You know the name, for sure.
After a short browsing in the interweb length of the solstice day is: 18h56min, 18h57min, 19h, about 19h, 19h03min, long and bright day, festival of the summer light etc. Some measurement estimates, I would say!
More measuring results: One source states that the length of daylight is the same between 21.-24.6. Only on the 25th of June onwards the day is 1 ... 2 minutes shorter in the Southern Finland, depending on the location of your barbeque grill!
Very gracious reading. However, this measurement result is worth nothing e.g. for a sailor "taking the sun down from the sky" with his sextant.
On scientific journal tells in a pedantic way, that the 22nd June is one minute shorter from sunrise, but one minute longer from sunset. I.e. daylight is 18h56min in Southern Finland like on the 21st of June; another example of the measurement technique.
Be that as it may, we have enough light and flies. For our luck, in Southern Finland we do not have mosquitos like in Lapland. That´s way repellents are not needed (oil, spray of smoke). N.b. All sorts of "thermacell" repellent devices are devils inventions. They kill all insects including pollinators. This is a man made insect pandemic!
The conclusion based on the above; singles have sufficient amount of time to make their traditional Finnish magic midnight tricks that will reveal their fiancé;
- Hide an axe under the bed (fiancé will appear during sleep, but will not use axe)
- Peep to a dwell or pond (do not forget life vest!)
- Roll naked the middle of the night in the fields (remember to take your allergic medicine before)
- Count the number of cuckoo´s cuckooings (the number years one has to wait to get married, autsch!)
- Pick 7 or 9 different type of wild flowers under your pillow (once again, remember allergic medicine)
- Put your right foot sock to your left foot before you go to bed (how to figure out the difference?)
- Go to three road crossing (y-crossing) at midnight (beware the traffic!)
- Measure the direction of the top flames of the Midsummer bonfire (true bearing with the compensation of the compass declination)
OR
Just load Tinder app to your not-so-smartphone, swipe without measurements using only intution!
Life is filled with wonderful measurement errors.
Friends, let´s have a great Midsummer Season!
