Here's how we can interpret the meaning of this metaphorical phrase:
1. Words and Time: Just as architects use physical materials and design principles to create structures and shape the built environment, words serve as our primary tool for constructing and shaping our perceptions of time.
2. Shaping Perspectives: Both words and architecture possess the power to influence how we perceive, experience, and interact with their respective domains. Words have the ability to shape our understanding of the past, present, and future, while architecture shapes our spatial experiences.
3. Narratives and Chronologies: Words are at the heart of storytelling, enabling us to create narratives and structures of time through historical accounts, stories, novels, and chronicles. Just as architects design the flow and progression of spaces in a building, writers and speakers design the flow of time through the ordering and arrangement of words.
4. Perception of Time: Just as certain architectural features can create illusions or distort our spatial perceptions, words can alter our perceptions of time. They can make time seem to pass quickly or slowly, create a sense of urgency or nostalgia, and evoke memories or experiences associated with specific time periods.
5. Documenting and Preserving: Words serve as a means to document and preserve historical events, experiences, and knowledge, creating a record that transcends time. In a way, words become a form of "time capsules" that capture and transmit information across generations.
6. Time Travel: Through literature and storytelling, words have the ability to transport us to different time periods, allowing us to explore past eras, imagine futures, or create alternative realities. Similarly, architecture can simulate or evoke specific historical periods through its design and style.
7. Embodiment of Time: Words can embody the passage of time, conveying a sense of duration, sequence, and change. Certain words, phrases, and literary techniques can create a vivid portrayal of time passing and its impact on characters, settings, and events.
Overall, the phrase "words do with time what architects do with space" emphasizes the powerful influence of words in shaping our understanding, experience, and representation of time. Words become the architects of our temporal experiences, shaping our perception and interactions with the dimension of time just as architects shape our spatial environments.