Counting Up, Counting Down, Staying Level
Perhaps the most famous countdown ever preceded the launch of Apollo 11 on 16 July 1969. There was worldwide excitement as the day and hour of the launch approached. The anticipation heightened as the Apollo 11 crew left Kennedy Space Centre's Manned Spacecraft Operations Building after dining on a breakfast of steak, scrambled eggs, toast, coffee and orange juice. The count reached its dramatic conclusion during the last 10 seconds (Ignition sequence starts...All Engines running...Lift off, we have lift off...). But, once Apollo 11 had been launched on top of a Saturn V rocket from Merritt Island, Florida, the epic journey was under way. The spacecraft traveled away from Earth at high speed, and within 4 days, man stepped on the moon for the first time. The countdown was great fun, but it was only the prelude to the main event - landing on the moon. The same also applies to the final seconds of New Year's Eve or shopping days to Chanukah. The party only starts once the counting stops.
By contrast, counting up is usually an end in itself. It represents completion. The number of classes to finish a series of lessons. Taking a census. The target has been reached.
On planet Judaism, the most prominent upwards count is the 50 days from Pesach to Shavuot. When this spiritual climax is reached, the goal is met. More obscure, but the main countdown is the 70 bulls sacrificed during Succoth in days of yore when the temple stood. 13 bulls on the first day, reducing by 1 a day, till 7 are dispatched on the 7th day. A grand total of 70 bulls, symbolising the diminishing physical influence of the 70 nations over time. By contrast, during Pesach, the daily festive temple sacrifice was identical each day. No increase, no decrease, flat like matzoh. Number counts that stay level every day imply consistency. No change.
The famous Talmudic disagreement about Chanukah between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai in a nutshell:
According to Shammai, one begins with the “days remaining” (8 candles), representing “maximum potential”. According to Hillel, one begins with the “days completed” (1 candle), representing “realized potential”. Unsurprisingly, nobody proposed lighting 8 candles every day (except perhaps owners of olive groves and candle merchants).
Looking back to the Apollo launch, a countdown from 8 to 1 candles would lack drama, as after 1 there is nothing. It's all over. Counting up from 1 to 8, there is a sense of anticipation, more light every day. Not hard to see why Hillel won the vote.
By contrast, counting up is usually an end in itself. It represents completion. The number of classes to finish a series of lessons. Taking a census. The target has been reached.
On planet Judaism, the most prominent upwards count is the 50 days from Pesach to Shavuot. When this spiritual climax is reached, the goal is met. More obscure, but the main countdown is the 70 bulls sacrificed during Succoth in days of yore when the temple stood. 13 bulls on the first day, reducing by 1 a day, till 7 are dispatched on the 7th day. A grand total of 70 bulls, symbolising the diminishing physical influence of the 70 nations over time. By contrast, during Pesach, the daily festive temple sacrifice was identical each day. No increase, no decrease, flat like matzoh. Number counts that stay level every day imply consistency. No change.
The famous Talmudic disagreement about Chanukah between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai in a nutshell:
According to Shammai, one begins with the “days remaining” (8 candles), representing “maximum potential”. According to Hillel, one begins with the “days completed” (1 candle), representing “realized potential”. Unsurprisingly, nobody proposed lighting 8 candles every day (except perhaps owners of olive groves and candle merchants).
Looking back to the Apollo launch, a countdown from 8 to 1 candles would lack drama, as after 1 there is nothing. It's all over. Counting up from 1 to 8, there is a sense of anticipation, more light every day. Not hard to see why Hillel won the vote.
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