Does time really exist ?

As a word, time does exist. Yes, you are right Relentless...

Well, time does exist. The old question of Why does an egg break, but never unbreak? is a good example of time. So, there must be time and it is moving in one direction. I mean technically, an egg can unbreak, if we simple reverse the physics involved exactly, but it does not. Well, entropy is so high that we will never see it, thus we cannot say it is impossible, but very very very very unlikely. The word time and the counting of seconds, minutes, hours, days etc etc of course were created by man, but..... time is there whether we count it or not. I do not think the question is Does time exist. But the question in my opinion should be Where do we exist in time?

Now, I am very intrigued by the concept of time slices. My understanding of this is that we are in but a moment of time. I feel that we are being pushed along with Times Arrow in this small slice of time. At this point we could probably branch off into two different areas as well.

The first one would be that if we jumped to the frame behind us, then we would go back a millisecond or less.... If we jumped back 10000 frames, it would see the same history, just repeated as in a movie. I mean we never see now anyway. We only see the past. It takes 8.3 minutes for the Suns light to reach the earth, 1.2 seconds for light from the moon to the earth, it takes just a fraction of a fraction of a millisecond for it to reach your eyes from looking at something, the chemicals in your eyes to reaction, the brain to process the picture in your head. Now, that means that it all happened in the past. Thus, we never see now only a fraction of a fraction of a millisecond in the past. So, are we just actors living out a script? hmmm makes you wonder.... Personally, I do not really want to believe that.

The second one and more fascinating one for me is that if we jump a time slice, the world would be just a millisecond (call it anything you like) away from this earths time. But, if we changed any millisecond could be played differently, thus leading to a different reality. The differences could be as simple as I blinked one less time yesterday or it could be that in a fraction of a moment decision, I decided not to move to Japan, but take another job. So, basically, every option is played out everywhere. Infinite realities with infinite possibilities that are all played out.

Just some thoughts.

[edit on 31-7-2004 by JCMinJapan]

Originally posted by Jamuhn
As a word, time does exist. Yes, you are right Relentless...

Hey now, I wasn't referring to the word, I was referring to the concept, will you still concede me right?

The real question is, once you accept it is real, is can it be overcome? And what the hey - does it matter?

P.S. - What time you got there, my watch seems to have stopped.

You are relentless arent you?

As a concept it does exist, but not in the way we think it does. What we consider time is the exchange of energy. And if we can control that, I think we could control time. Time shouldn't be used as a barrier to limit us, as it currently is being used. I think we can stop time. Who says we can't go to the grocery store, play a game of basketball, and take a shower, all in a millisecond. Only our concept of the way time flows. Our concept of time requires us to concede that we do not have the power to change a lot of things and limits us.

I couldnt give you the time by the way, my watch has only only moved an hour while the ATS clock has moved about twenty four. I think my concept of time is changing my watch. WEIRD

Originally posted by Jamuhn
You are relentless arent you?

Time shouldn't be used as a barrier to limit us, as it currently is being used. I think we can stop time. Who says we can't go to the grocery store, play a game of basketball, and take a shower, all in a millisecond. Only our concept of the way time flows. Our concept of time requires us to concede that we do not have the power to change a lot of things and limits us.

A ha! So do we agree time exists? Obviously if we are talking in these terms time exists. I mean after all, if it limits us it exists. Yes?

So now, there have been reports of people defying the limits of time but I only know of ones that no one else should assume are credible.

Anyone?

P.S. YES, I AM RELENTLESS HEAR ME ROAR !

Time is nothing but a fancy yardstick us humans created.

I think the most widespread example of people defying time is people who play sports. When they get in the zone, they perform at incredible speeds. Maybe it is us that are constant in our abilities, but dont quote me on that. There are more examples to i've read about, especially among the more spiritual, shamans, and such. IMO, time is the exchange of energy, and if you could manipulate in such a way, you could change the entire concept of time. For example, if you take in energy that allows you to live forever, then time doesnt matter in that respect.

Time is only a constant because change itself is constant, things always change. Thus time is our measurement of that change. Change is essentially redistrubution of energy.

Thank you for helping get my bearings on why I felt the way I did about time. And I do concede that your eyes are lovely, oops, have I traveled to the past?

Originally posted by Jamuhn
I think the most widespread example of people defying time is people who play sports. When they get in the zone, they perform at incredible speeds. Maybe it is us that are constant in our abilities, but dont quote me on that.

Hey, I will quote you one that one - it's a good example and I saw this once at a track meet. It is one of the most indelible memories in my past. It was on a mile relay and the last leg was half a lap behind when handed the baton. It was just not human how he made up the distance and won. It just seemed impossible, but I saw it - breathtaking!

Maybe it was an example of a kid not yet restrained by conventional thinking who just overcame the restraint of time - who knows.

Now behave & stick to the topic ya nut!

I may be full of it, but that's OK. I don't care, I'm used to it; I've been full of it plenty of times. So, anyway, here goes ...

The concept of time is fundamentally related to the relative motion/movement of matter/energy through space. Assigning an order, or sequence, to events observed while moving through space is our brain�s way of making sense of things. Thermodynamics gives rise to the perception of an "arrow of time", pointing only in a �forward� direction (past to present to future), because entropy increases with time. For example, first we are young, then we get old and then we die, and not vice versa.

To more fully describe an event, we can quantify it by assigning a time coordinate, along with the other three space coordinates, to specify �when�, as well as �where�, the event took place. Then, as other events take place, the difference between coordinates is considered the �time elapsed� between the events. You could also think of it as the �distance� between events?

This is all relative, mind you, and varies depending on the observer�s frame of reference and velocity relative to point of reference.

So, time is basically a Human invention, and it can be defined in many different ways. The "time" intervals (seconds, minutes, hours, etc) don't have to be defined as the relationship between the movements of the Earth and Sun. If you wanted, you could define them to be the relationship between the movement of the Earth and the cosmic microwave background radiation. For instance, you could define an hour to be the "time" taken for the Earth to move 872,400 miles relative to the CBR.

The above may be all wrong, but it's the way I think of it at the moment. To state it briefly, we tend to think we live within time, but in fact it's time that lives within us.

Does time exist?

On Earth is most certainly does. Time is a man-made measurement, nothing more, nothing less.

So seeing as we use this measurement to organise our lives, then it indeed does exist, but as I said, only on Earth.

Time is simply and illusion, The universe is created by a consciousness which manifests in physical reality .which repeats over and over giving the illusion of linear time.

Time, as well as the calendar is man-made. Arguments have been put foreward that time and almanacia do provide logical control for us. Work from 9 to 5, Dinner party on the 13th of whenever, etc. This may be the case if one lives lives their lives to a system.

If you try to jump out of the loop you are branded as crazy, excentric (sp?), or just pain luny.


When the calendar was changed, the peple just accepted it. In those times the only bitching you could do was to debate it within your own small community.

The time that we know as time, is still controlled. See how many time the precise time has to be adjusted.

I would love to tell the "system" to F@$# off and run their own show. Then I remember....The bond
The Phone Bill
My internet Bill (God Forbid)
Insurance
Etc....etc.

Actually I have come to realise that there is no time......no time for anything.

Sit Ubu sit

How can time not exist!? We go though a passing, we age, we die...we may only of named it "time" in order to refer to it and we have devised a method to measure it, but the "passing" happens.....whether we named or measure it.....it still passes...things grow up, die, there is a before (past) and a not happened yet (future)

Time started writing this: 12:44:45

Yes it does...

Time ended writing this: 12:45:01

I think relativity shows us that time does exist.
Just like the other 3 dimensions.

Warning, non-scientific, religious perspective ahead....

From a Christian perspective there is both time and eternity. Eternity is outside of time and time is the bubble we all move in a straight line through. The reason that God is omnipotent is he lives in Eternity, which being outside of time allows Him to see all points in the bubble of time together. Thus he exists at all times whithin our existence but is outside of it.

Now if you want to get really into an interesting thought progression....

Since those of us who end up in heaven will do so in Eternity, it must then mean that we are even now there as well as here. We are in fact probably looking down on ourselves right now. Might we be our own guardian angels?

- Was

OK.

Imagine if there was only a single particle in the void. The only particle type.
This particle is totally neutral and has no electromagnetic fields.
Since it is the only particle, gravity wouldnt exist would it, since theres nothing else to feels its influence. This particle travels at a unknown speed.
This particle is also totally fundamental and cannot be broken up.

now the question.
Does time exist for this particle?
No.
Why?
We don't know its speed, it is actually not moving at all because it is set relative to nothing else.
No fields mean no changes, so no time to be concious of.
And it doesnt break up and rejoin so cant be measured to take time in ANY processes.

Am i right in saying that since this particle doesnt have time, that time is simply a measurement of change?

The universe is nothing but randomness....

Time is different for different creatures. For a fly, a lifetime is but a few weeks. For a human maybe a hundred years. A tree, up to a thousand, rocks can be billions.

We are the only ones that think of time. Flies don't think of time since they don't have the capacity, yet it still exists for them, they live and die by time even though they aren't aware of it's existance.

Humans didn't create time, it will always be there. You can't change time more than you can change the amazon river.

QUICKSILVER Thats kind of a good way to look at it im impressed with your reply.

Originally posted by quiksilver
OK.

Imagine if there was only a single particle in the void. The only particle type.
This particle is totally neutral and has no electromagnetic fields.
Since it is the only particle, gravity wouldnt exist would it, since theres nothing else to feels its influence. This particle travels at a unknown speed.
This particle is also totally fundamental and cannot be broken up.

now the question.
Does time exist for this particle?
No.
Why?
We don't know its speed, it is actually not moving at all because it is set relative to nothing else.
No fields mean no changes, so no time to be concious of.
And it doesnt break up and rejoin so cant be measured to take time in ANY processes.

Am i right in saying that since this particle doesnt have time, that time is simply a measurement of change?

Well, assuming the theory hasn't changed on me, your hypothetical should not be correct. Matter creation requires a particle and an anti particle to be created to satisfy the laws of energy conservation. Thus there would always be 2 particles to observe.

However, time is a measurement of change in space.

Time in and of itself does not exist. As it cannot exist without space. Thus special relativity groups these two things together into one term--space-time.


[edit on 2-8-2004 by Raphael_UO]