Time is not an illusion, it's an object with physical size

[Eldorado]

According to Albert Einstein, our experience of the past, present and future is nothing more than ‘a stubbornly persistent illusion’. According to Isaac Newton, time is nothing more than backdrop, outside of life. And according to the laws of thermodynamics, time is nothing more than entropy and heat. In the history of modern physics, there has never been a widely accepted theory in which a moving, directional sense of time is fundamental. Many of our most basic descriptions of nature – from the laws of movement to the properties of molecules and matter – seem to exist in a universe where time doesn’t really pass. However, recent research across a variety of fields suggests that the movement of time might be more important than most physicists had once assumed.

A new form of physics called assembly theory suggests that a moving, directional sense of time is real and fundamental. It suggests that the complex objects in our Universe that have been made by life, including microbes, computers and cities, do not exist outside of time: they are impossible without the movement of time. From this perspective, the passing of time is not only intrinsic to the evolution of life or our experience of the Universe. It is also the ever-moving material fabric of the Universe itself. Time is an object. It has a physical size, like space. And it can be measured at a molecular level in laboratories.

https://aeon.co/essays/time-is-not-an-illusion-its-an-object-with-physical-size?

Edited June 8 by Eldorado

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

Time is an illusion, lunch time doubly-so - Douglas Adams.

[lightly]

15 minutes ago, Eldorado said:

A new form of physics called assembly theory suggests that a moving, directional sense of time is real and fundamental. It suggests that the complex objects in our Universe that have been made by life, including microbes, computers and cities, do not exist outside of time: they are impossible without the movement of time. From this perspective, the passing of time is not only intrinsic to the evolution of life or our experience of the Universe. It is also the ever-moving material fabric of the Universe itself. Time is an object. It has a physical size, like space. And it can be measured at a molecular level in laboratories.

https://aeon.co/essays/time-is-not-an-illusion-its-an-object-with-physical-size?

I’ve been wondering if what this ^ calls  “the ever moving fabric of the Universe itself”. .  might be energy/matter (including our atoms)  in a constant state of RE- CREATION  at the sub atomic level.  . and it’s that motion which we perceive as passing time.              err, maybe not huh?       

[+and-then]

"Einstein was able to combine the concepts of how we measure both space and time into a unified structure we now call ‘spacetime’. In this structure, space is infinite and all points exist at once. But time, as Einstein described it, also has this property, which means that all times – past, present and future – are equally real."

This idea is one I've heard religious scholars invoke.  The Bible mentions that Jesus Christ is the Spirit of prophecy.  In fact He tells His disciples about future events specifically for the purpose of helping strengthen their faith.  Those who do not come to faith will generally close their mind to such predictions because in our modern world, while we can make guesses of the future based on trends of events, not many people believe that a specific event can be foretold with any accuracy.

I think we will someday realize that the mythology of our religions is what has kept most people from accepting the idea of a Creator.  If a single intelligence set this in motion then why would it be impossible for that entity to be able to see that -

"all times – past, present and future – are equally real."  and that the Creator is aware of all of them at the same time?

[Alchopwn]

Time is some sort of Lovecraftian Deity we have been eaten by.

[Piney]

On 6/8/2023 at 9:13 PM, and-then said:

"Einstein was able to combine the concepts of how we measure both space and time into a unified structure we now call ‘spacetime’. In this structure, space is infinite and all points exist at once. But time, as Einstein described it, also has this property, which means that all times – past, present and future – are equally real."

This idea is one I've heard religious scholars invoke.  The Bible mentions that Jesus Christ is the Spirit of prophecy.  In fact He tells His disciples about future events specifically for the purpose of helping strengthen their faith.  Those who do not come to faith will generally close their mind to such predictions because in our modern world, while we can make guesses of the future based on trends of events, not many people believe that a specific event can be foretold with any accuracy.

I think we will someday realize that the mythology of our religions is what has kept most people from accepting the idea of a Creator.  If a single intelligence set this in motion then why would it be impossible for that entity to be able to see that -

"all times – past, present and future – are equally real."  and that the Creator is aware of all of them at the same time?

John Calvin was a believer in linear time and predestination. But most Christians who believe in "free will" reject a linear time thread and picture it more as a spiderweb or fingerboard which can be changed with the slightest decision. 

[Abramelin]

[fred_mc]

I could never have become a physicist because I don't understand the questions they are asking, questions like "What is time?", "Why does time exist?", and "Why does time go forward only?". For me, it is self-evident that time exists. I can't imagine time not existing. Nothing would happen without time because everything takes time. It would be a kind of nothingness forever, but the word forever doesn't make sense since it requires time. It's impossible for me to understand. Also, time going backwards is not something I can understand. So, do they mean that everything that will ever happen will already have happened, and then events "unhappen" backwards one by one, and people start out with "undying" and end with being "unborn". Time going backwards is a concept I can't understand, yet physicists think it is strange that time can't go backwards.