Seasons

I am not particularly compelled by the theory of Milankovitch cycles of which purportedly dictate the ambient temperature and climate of earth at any given time in its past.  That is, given the following three parameters, the eccentricity of earth’s orbital pattern, the tilt of its axis, and the precession of equinox, or wobble (baby!), one can determine the prevail climatic pattern present on earth at that point.  This is of course assumes a uniformitarian approach to geology and astronomy, of which this is not a diatribe against.  One statistic that I did find compelling on this subject, however, is that a good number, and even a majority in some instances, of graduating college students could not give an adequate explanation of why some parts of the earth, particularly in the temperate zones, experience seasonal changes.  Of course, the very basic answer is earth’s axial tilt.  No, the inclination of the great orb away from its plane perpendicular to its orbit does not directly make the leaves of deciduous trees radiate with more colors than Michelangelo had on his palette or make the clear hexagonal crystals crawl from the sky in a blanket that appears white when clustered together…but indirectly it does!  It’s curious, even laughable at times, that our preferences often seem to fit our overall given situation; but, yes, I do prefer the seasonal flux that is contrived more favorably in the mid-latitudes, and I don’t think (though I’m not sure) it is because that’s where I was born and where I have spent most of my time.  ‘September’, nominally, is not a good timekeeper because the name is arbitrary.  It could just as easily be named ‘Octobuary’ and the irrelevance to the time of year would remain.  But the name ‘Autumn’ lets me know just where I’m at – in relation to the sun and in temperament.   No, I do not suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but seasons carry moods, and ‘Fall’ is a good one.  I don’t want to be woken up when September ends because I plan on being awake for it!