Time

Time is weaved into our existence so deeply that we never tend to notice it; sure, we check what time it is, but do we ever really think about time? Imagine if a child innocently asked you to define time: could you do it? You could conjure up an explanation about the passage of time; however, to really define what time is, well, is difficult. Time happens to be elusive when you attempt to grasp its very nature. Our understanding of time comes from our very experience of it, which happens to lead us to a misunderstanding - as Einstein showed us.

For me, I spend too much of my time thinking about time. Time is a serious challenge for me in my life in two ways: scientifically/philosophically and personally. I would like to discuss these here.

First, without a notion of time we could not describe anything scientifically nor could we understand anything philosophically. You would be strapped to find a scientific theory that did not rely on the passage of time in some way. This is because our world revolves around movement. Imagine describing movement without a temporal notion; our language does not allow for it. Similarly, philosophy relies on logic. A logical argument requires premises, deductions (from the premises), and a conclusion in that order. Here, again, we reach this temporal notion through order: the processing of the deductions must precede the conclusions. It is evident that the one must come before the other. Now our tools, philosophy and science, at our disposal to study time inherently rely on time - not a promising situation.

It appears that trying to study the nature of time is akin to proving a postulate of geometry using the postulates themselves. We may need to think of time, as itself, a postulate of nature. In which case the best we can do is assume time has always been. Maybe, the question of how time was created is nonsensical; it was never created; it has always been. Maybe, we can never understand the fabric of time, rather only investigate the properties of this fabric. In this realm, progress has been made.

I would like to discuss this progress here - as it is at the heart of almost everyone's misunderstanding of time. Time moves; it flows. This much is clear. Furthermore, it appears clear that it moves only in one direction. This is something very difficult to show. This topic is discussed quite frequently in popular science writing (look for discussions on the arrow of time and entropy). Physicist seem to be confident that there exist physical processes (i.e. entropy) that show time moves only in one direction - sorry, no travelling backwards in time (maybe). Another feature that we take for granted is that time moves at the same pace for everyone; this is wrong. The idea of time being invariant for all observers is what defines Newtonian mechanics. On the other hand, abandoning this notion provides us with Einsteinian mechanics. One of Einstein's many contributions to physics was to realize time is relative; but, the speed of light is constant. The speed at which time flows is relative. This is special relativity - the faster you move, the slower time moves. (This will sound bizarre: but, if you were to move at the speed of light then time would effectively stop!) This ultimately leads to the realization that space and time are intimately linked - the discovery of spacetime. We do not live in a three dimension world; the universe is, in actuality, a four dimensional manifold (and it can even bend - as posited by Einstein's general relativity). I think this puts a dagger in the heart of the idea that time is man made; it is fundamental to the universe.

Other than my scientific curiosity, I have personal challenges with time. Despite the seemingly infinite span of time, I can only claim a finite amount of it. I do not have a problem with this fact; however, I have difficulties with the appropriate rationing of it. I find that I take the question "what time is it?" and translate its answer to "how much time do I have left". This thought process creates great stress for me and cripples me from enjoying my time. The magnitude of this has increased greatly as my free time has decreased as a function of having a career. So as my free time counts down, I find it difficult to decide how to spend it and ultimately waste it. After realizing this cycle, I decided to make it my New Year's resolution to not pay attention to the time (during my free time that is). This is more of a challenge that you would thing: the time is on my watch, my phone, my computer, my tv, my microwave, my car, my stereo; the list goes on. Why is the world so determined to make sure I know what time it is all the time? Anyways, I have been doing a fair job of not knowing the time and I feel liberated. Without the worry of knowing the time, I find myself willing to spend my time on whatever it is I desire and do not feel as though I am wasting my time. I am more satisfied with what I am doing as I worry less about what I feel as though I ought to be doing. With this schedule, I happen to even do more of those things that I feel I should be doing; I own my time.