5. Time, sequence, order

Timing is something that we all appreciate: it is usually best to walk into the rook after the hard work has been done.

But time itself is one of the ways in which we organize our thoughts. Especially in English, when something occurred (past, present, future) is one of the first things we think when we speak. We do this by determining the tense we will use to express ourselves.

So, whether something has happened, is happening now, or will happen (and how soon) are very important aspects of our thinking process. One thing that time helps us to determine is whether we should be acting or thinking.

Time help us order our thoughts in other ways as well. The concepts of sequence and order are temporal concepts. Before is a temporal concept.

In a sequence, certain things come before other things.

For example, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 is a sequence that is orderly, each step is the same size (1).

When we see number 3 we know it comes after number 2. After is a temporal concept.

Similarly, order can be temporal concept: things in sequence are addressed one at a time, in order.

Please note that order is also a spatial concept, as it is the physical pattern of things.