Editorial: Rumour travels faster than light

WHEN Ole Romer determined that light has a finite speed it was 1676.

Putting the year in perspective, it was 10 years after the Great Fire of London and 11 years after the plague.

Christopher Wren was at the top of his game and the American colonies were discovering that land already occupied can't be taken without a fight. Romer did try to measure light's speed and came up with a figure not too far from accurate.

The Danish astronomer arrived at about 220,000,000 metres per second - actual speed is 299,792,458 m/s. Many refused to believe his findings, 340 years ago, preferring to stick to what was blindingly obvious. Light speed is instant.

Nowadays we are more enlightened and know that only one thing can travel instantaneously, and that is gossip and conjecture fired from a social media cannon, a gun capable of firing a projectile much faster than mainstream media artillery.

From there to there takes no measurable time at all.

Take the shock resignation of John Key. Before the dust had settled and Nationalites could dry their eyes, there were rumours of scandal.

John Key stated family reasons, therefore there must be some other, darker reason for leaving the top job.

At the same time there were announcements of those seeking to fill his shoes.

Even as Bill English, dubbed by John Key as Sir Successor, stepped forward, he was being jostled by Jonathan Coleman and Judith Collins. Simultaneously, Paula Bennett was seeking caucus approval to join them.

While the punters were digesting this news, there was already speculation about John Key's earning power in the boardrooms of New Zealand or overseas, coming as he does from a Prime Ministerial, and therefore desirable background.

Chairman of the Board is his job for the asking, or offering. It was like seeing a fully-researched obituary appear seconds after a celebrity's death.

Light speed? Nah, faster than that.