The old fossil posed an interesting question. One I frankly I have never considered - which makes my read the topic and shoot from the hip even more interesting, at least to me.
Tell me you didn't see this coming -
It poses a couple of questions - does anyone really know what time it is? Does anyone really care?
Does time exist? maybe in the now it does but the past and future? I suspect not. We use "time" as a convenient place marker for our lives. We recall the past by chronicling events. We mark it with photographs, written chronicles, physical evidence. But these things are not time - they - each in themselves mark a particular presence in time - a different now that has come and gone. If things were not constantly in a state of flux would "time" really matter?
The concept of time conveniently allows us to add much needed structure to our existence, There's a degree of comfort knowing every now has a specific "time" attached to it and although we humans cannot leave well enough alone - we created multiple time zones to make things more convenient. But "now" on the east coast does not change the "now" here in Texas nor is it the future now on the west coast. It is simply the now.
Time travel? What a quandry!
Einstein theorized it was possible - is it? Depends on which mystic you follow I suppose. The notion of time travel is fascinating. Who wouldn't want to go back and correct a mistake or two from a different now? Who wouldn't want to know who wins the next big game ahead of the event? There is a current series on SyFy that addresses time travel called Continuum, It's definitely worth a look if you are interested in time travel and its repercussions. That of course assumes time is more than an illusion - and they address multiple time lines. That classic space/time continuum gets ripped occasionally and opens up an entirely different can of worms.
Now back to the original question - is time an illusion?? Frankly I do not have the proper brainpower to comprehend the scientific discussion in spite of my IQ as tested being kinda high. Guess it's high in the wrong area but unless Neil deGrasse Tyson or Sheldon Cooper are explaining things, I am typically bored stiff (aka it is as clear as mud). I guess that leaves my notions and understanding of time confined to esoteric discussions like this one. You know those discussions - the ones where the discussion in and of itself matters more than the subject or any conclusions you may reach.
If pressed I'll admit to thinking time is an illusion but its one we need. We need the structure.
Thats my quick shack-from-the-hip tale on this weeks topic. Please check out my compatriots in the LBC and see where time takes them - and here's a final musical time share - just to get the blood moving a bit
Glad you put Chicago in there, Chuck. The song says it all … does anybody really care?
ReplyDeleteblessings ~ maxi
No, I didn't even know that the song by Chicago existed!
ReplyDelete“If a man does not keep pace with his companion, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.”
~ Henry David Thoreau.
That is one aspect of time that you will immediately identify with as being very much part of music.
"What would be the implications of thinking about leisure time as ‘time on’ rather than as ‘time off’? "
~Roman Krznaric.
The Western concept of time is linear and that is the problem! Eastern approach is that it is cyclic!
But my point is simply I don;t care. I doubt very much if the essence of time - whatever the outcome - will have any affect on me and my life, And you know me well enough to know that All my life's a circle.
DeleteThe time that counts is 'The now', no matter where you are in this world. Live in the moment.
ReplyDeleteI went into some of the physics of it over at my blog as you saw. From that vantage point, it is proven that time as a separate thing is an illusion, but if you have a shared frame of reference, two people will agree on it. So, since we virtually always are sharing a frame of reference, it doesn't matter that it is an illusion. Unless you realize that some of the great things being done in the world rely upon the precise knowledge that actual understanding brings. Or the philosophical implications of always wandering around in an illusion.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to consider, though, isn't it? Especially when you know there is authoritative evidence showing it is not as it appears.