According to the
theory of general relativity, time can be defined as the fourth dimension in
space, “traversable in any direction.” Meaning that all time (present, past,
future) has no “sequential” or specific order and is coexisting together at
once. This has led many to believe that time is simply an illusion. Something
we have created in order to “measure the rate of change of the present.”
However, many others believe that the present is real, and thus, not an
illusion. Well, which is it?
To think that the
current present is real and that the past and future are not (seeing as how
they cannot be measured) is universally acceptable. If something is in the past,
in a sense, it’s not “tangible” any longer; and the same goes for the future.
However, the present is “tangible” and can be measured. But if the present is
real and as “time” continues, the present soon becomes the past and the future
becomes the present. Does this mean that our idea of “time” is wrong?
To this day there
is no right or wrong answer to that question. The search and study to put an
exact, real definition on “time” will continue. I found several articles and
videos that make their best attempts to explain time and how it works.
PBS aired an episode
titled “The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of time,” where Brian Greene
takes the viewers on a time-traveling adventure in order to gain a better
understanding of the true meaning of time, where past, present, and future can
all coexist at once.
This interesting
video captures the essence of how time can be thought of as an “illusion” based
on the fact that time is different for different perspectives. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrqmMoI0wks
Works Cited:
Scientific American: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-time-an-illusion/
Leigh Brasington: http://www.leighb.com/notime.htm
4 points.
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