I have written a book (A Brief History of Time-lessness ) on a possibility that no one else interested in ‘time’ seems to have considered, let alone considered and carefully dismissed at the start of their inquiries into ‘time’.
If you consider the possibility i suggest, carefully as you look around the world it may make more and more sense to you.
This question gets asked a lot on Quora in different forms, and you will get a lot of varying answers – the main problem you will find is that people will tell you what they ‘think’ or guess about ‘time’, and almost invariably won’t even start by ‘defining’ what they mean by the (ambiguous) word, nor will they give actual evidence or experiments to support the opinions.
This means you may end up endlessly accruing more and more conflicting or aligning ‘ideas’ apparently about this ‘time’ thing. The problem being, that like ‘ghosts’, they probably don’t exist – but the more of a speculative discussion you have about ‘ghosts’, the more you use the word, and the more ideas you have, so the more you may (wrongly) think you are talking about something.
The possibility...
Try this ‘thought experiment’, to understand a key part of reality in a very different way that may answer all your questions about ‘time’.
Instead of assuming the thing ‘time’ exists, and endlessly trying to define ‘it’ and wonder what ‘it’ is, try sitting where you are and checking for yourself what you actually do and do not see.
You should see things existing, moving and interacting in all directions.
Now here’s the ‘trippy’ thought experiment,
Ask yourself the following question, and don’t give up until you are satisfied.
“IF everything in the universe “just” exists, moves and interacts in all physical directions, would this be enough to wrongly mislead me into thinking a ‘past’, ‘future’ and thus thing called ‘time’ exist?”
Bare in mind, that your own apparent thoughts about a ‘future’, are just matter existing moving and interacting in your mind, and your own apparent ‘memories of the past’, are just matter in a formation in your mind.
If you ask yourself the thought experiment question carefully, you may find that matter just existing and interacting is all you see, and all that is needed to explain all you observe.
So you may conclude, like me, that therefore that is probably all there is, and we may be wrong from the outset to assume any such ‘things’ as a ‘past’, a ‘future’ or ‘time’ actually exist in any way at all.
And the universe may be literally and genuinely ‘timeless’ ( to use a thus misleading word : )
yours
Matthew Marsden
Ps – if you check out the main video it addresses the points you ask. Re ‘aging’ be careful you are not confusing ‘appearance’ with something else. And check your facts with experiment.
Eg – place one apple in a fridge – where it ‘is’ ‘changing in all physical directions ‘slowly’, and place another in a warm damp place.
On may ‘change’ more rapidly, and ‘look’ old or decayed or dead... but logically the matter is all just there or in the surroundings... to claim either has ‘aged’ you need to prove – not just assume – but prove – there really is a past, and future, and thing called time... otherwise you don’t see any thing ‘age’ – you just call things that are firm young, and mushy old.
Consider buying a ‘new’ car – do you think they really make things ‘new’ in the factory – or just smooth and shiny?
Consider a 4 month ‘old’ baby, eating a 6 month ‘old’ tin of beans... does some of the baby apparently become 6 months old... or do all of the matter that makes up the baby, its surroundings and the beans just exist and interact with varying appearences?
(Auth "A Brief History of Timelessness")
A Brief History of Time-lessness
A Brief History of Timelessness: Why it's always now, everywhere.
A Brief History of Time-lessness (r2): "Does Time exist?", "What is Time?","Is Time-Travel possible?"
more general aspects of 'time' v ‘Time-lessness’
Does Time exist? How 'Time travel Paradoxes' can't happen without "the past".
If you consider the possibility i suggest, carefully as you look around the world it may make more and more sense to you.
This question gets asked a lot on Quora in different forms, and you will get a lot of varying answers – the main problem you will find is that people will tell you what they ‘think’ or guess about ‘time’, and almost invariably won’t even start by ‘defining’ what they mean by the (ambiguous) word, nor will they give actual evidence or experiments to support the opinions.
This means you may end up endlessly accruing more and more conflicting or aligning ‘ideas’ apparently about this ‘time’ thing. The problem being, that like ‘ghosts’, they probably don’t exist – but the more of a speculative discussion you have about ‘ghosts’, the more you use the word, and the more ideas you have, so the more you may (wrongly) think you are talking about something.
The possibility...
Try this ‘thought experiment’, to understand a key part of reality in a very different way that may answer all your questions about ‘time’.
Instead of assuming the thing ‘time’ exists, and endlessly trying to define ‘it’ and wonder what ‘it’ is, try sitting where you are and checking for yourself what you actually do and do not see.
You should see things existing, moving and interacting in all directions.
Now here’s the ‘trippy’ thought experiment,
Ask yourself the following question, and don’t give up until you are satisfied.
“IF everything in the universe “just” exists, moves and interacts in all physical directions, would this be enough to wrongly mislead me into thinking a ‘past’, ‘future’ and thus thing called ‘time’ exist?”
Bare in mind, that your own apparent thoughts about a ‘future’, are just matter existing moving and interacting in your mind, and your own apparent ‘memories of the past’, are just matter in a formation in your mind.
If you ask yourself the thought experiment question carefully, you may find that matter just existing and interacting is all you see, and all that is needed to explain all you observe.
So you may conclude, like me, that therefore that is probably all there is, and we may be wrong from the outset to assume any such ‘things’ as a ‘past’, a ‘future’ or ‘time’ actually exist in any way at all.
And the universe may be literally and genuinely ‘timeless’ ( to use a thus misleading word : )
yours
Matthew Marsden
Ps – if you check out the main video it addresses the points you ask. Re ‘aging’ be careful you are not confusing ‘appearance’ with something else. And check your facts with experiment.
Eg – place one apple in a fridge – where it ‘is’ ‘changing in all physical directions ‘slowly’, and place another in a warm damp place.
On may ‘change’ more rapidly, and ‘look’ old or decayed or dead... but logically the matter is all just there or in the surroundings... to claim either has ‘aged’ you need to prove – not just assume – but prove – there really is a past, and future, and thing called time... otherwise you don’t see any thing ‘age’ – you just call things that are firm young, and mushy old.
Consider buying a ‘new’ car – do you think they really make things ‘new’ in the factory – or just smooth and shiny?
Consider a 4 month ‘old’ baby, eating a 6 month ‘old’ tin of beans... does some of the baby apparently become 6 months old... or do all of the matter that makes up the baby, its surroundings and the beans just exist and interact with varying appearences?
(Auth "A Brief History of Timelessness")
A Brief History of Time-lessness
A Brief History of Timelessness: Why it's always now, everywhere.
A Brief History of Time-lessness (r2): "Does Time exist?", "What is Time?","Is Time-Travel possible?"
more general aspects of 'time' v ‘Time-lessness’
Does Time exist? How 'Time travel Paradoxes' can't happen without "the past".
