Aeons: The search for the beginning of time by Martin Gorst, Fourth Estate,
£14, ISBN 1841151173
WHEN God said “Let there be light!” He did more than create the world. He
also left us a conundrum: when, exactly, did time begin?
In the early 17th century, an Irish bishop, James Ussher, thought he had the
answer. After a life’s work of meticulous study and calculation, the theologian
finally settled on a date: the world was created on Saturday 22 October,
4004 BC.
Even though the bishop pinpoints the time of creation at 6pm with comic
accuracy, he earns our respect…
