…Time.
Other than our perception of the “arrow of time” always moving in the “forward” direction, what is time really, other than a concept (idea) perceived (experienced by way of change)?
Yes, time is fluid like that. It’s a variable. It’s relative. It’s not really (ultimately) “real.” It’s just circumstantially real. It’s the act of perceiving change while being limited to a particular frame of reference. That means, ultimately, for us, time is an illusion. These are undisputed facts… unless and until we enter the realm of the philosophical/theoretical. Then we might be able to worm our humanly-biased ECC way around them. 😁
As Einstein was said to have phrased it, “For those of us who believe in physics, the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”
I like that. It has also been said that “Time is the fire in which we burn.” It’s the medium in which our existence takes place. I like that “waxing philosophical/poetic” idea too.
There is one truth we humans can hang onto, however. We do, collectively, experience our own little personal slice of the time continuum. It’s ours, and it’s where we “make our stand.” But our slice is far from the “be all-end all” of time. Personally, I suspect ours is not the “end of the time story.” There has to be more to it… I think. 🤷♀️
Where am I going with this? I’m wondering…
Is it a shortsighted/faulty premise to judge all (so-called) existence and (so-called) universal knowledge, merely based on our little limited slice of the time continuum? Granted, our judgments and knowledge are valid, but only while in this, our personal time context.
What about outside our time slice? Go outside our default context, and conclusions and knowledge may break down in the greater scheme of the time continuum; what we know, or think we know, may no longer be applicable. Not impossible, true?
So, let’s do some theoretical (outside the box) thinking, just for the fun of it.
When you consider time as something focal to our understanding of existence, how can we so easily dismiss the fluidity of time? Is it because we can’t directly access time’s fluidity, even though it’s really there? There, but not there, so to speak? Out of sight, out of mind? For example, here’s something amazing. Do you know you are rotating around the earth’s merry-go-round at an incredible 24,000 miles per hour? It’s true. Don’t feel a thing, huh? 😉 How about your “Earth Car” racing at 67,000 miles/hour around the sun? Still not feelin’ it?
Since we know for a fact that time is a variable, how might that play into our believed stoppage of time for a dead thing? Is it because they, the dead thing, no longer seemingly share our time slice? Is it because there is no longer a vehicle (body) (entity) to be able to experience time? But isn’t that our “time slice experience” talking? For the religious, is that where the idea of a soul comes in, to take care of the "time problem?"
How can the claim be made that existence outside our time continuum is invalid, since we have no access to time outside our slice? Who could make that claim in good conscience? Do they know they are basing that claim on limited knowledge? Don’t they even care?
How do you think about this concept and precept of time? Does it ever give you pause; make you think (or the dreaded “overthink”), 😵 like it does me?
Pick and choose among anything here that interests you. Let your mind wander and wonder. I know this is a monster tl;dr post and may not get many reads, but for those who do take the time, entertain me, for a change.
Thanks for indulging me and posting your ideas! 😊
(by PrimalSoup)
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