Illusion of Time: Is the Future Already Written?

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion centers on Brian Greene's interpretation of time as presented in "The Fabric of the Cosmos: Illusion of Time." Participants explore the implications of special relativity, particularly the concept of "now slices," which vary based on an observer's velocity. The discussion posits that, in a deterministic universe model, the future is already written, as suggested by Einstein and Kurt Gödel. However, it is emphasized that this does not imply that distant observers possess knowledge of our future, as events outside their past light cone remain unobservable.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of special relativity concepts, including "now slices" and light cones.
  • Familiarity with deterministic universe models and their implications.
  • Knowledge of Einstein's theories and their interpretations regarding time.
  • Awareness of quantum uncertainty and its contrast with determinism.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research "Einstein's theory of special relativity" for foundational knowledge.
  • Explore the "Andromeda Paradox" and its implications on simultaneity and perception of time.
  • Study "quantum field theory" to understand its relationship with determinism.
  • Investigate the concept of "light cones" in spacetime to grasp their significance in relativity.
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for physicists, students of theoretical physics, and anyone interested in the philosophical implications of time and determinism in the context of special relativity.

  • #31
I might be misreading you here, but as far as I know, the time on your wristwatch is still dependent on your reference frame. That was the whole Hafele-Keating experiment. GPS satellites have to calibrate for time dilation to match up with time on the ground. According to this, the GPS system would crash in about 2 minutes or so without adjustment for relative time.

Definitely misreading. What I refer to as wristwatch time is simply the "length" of a geodesic in GR.
 
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  • #33
TerryWalsh290 said:
According to her, the Aliens can see our future! They just can't tell us about it though, but it has been written!
Not only can they not tell us about our future, they cannot "see" it either. Any individual observer that is distant from an event,, never knows about an event before an observer local to the event, whatever their state of relative motion from the point of view of any reference frame. The Andromeda paradox and block time concept are just party tricks, with no practical application.
 
  • #34
yuiop said:
The Andromeda paradox and block time concept are just party tricks, with no practical application.

The Andromeda Paradox emphasises that the hyperplane called "now" is just a coordinate-based labelling of events. "Future" and "past" are meaningful only insofar as they refer to an observer's light cones.
 
  • #35
Interesting to see that others are also frustrated with the description by Greene. When I first read the book, I read that section three times, could not figure out what he was trying to convey, and so moved on. Haven't tried again yet and don't plan on it.

The rest of the book I also have probably read about three times...but because the rest I found extemely insightful...Starting out, I got a lot of valuable perspective from both Farbic of the Cosmos and the Elegant Universe...
 
  • #36
If it does really like that, so is the concept of time traveling becoming possible ?
since we still on the same moment even in different position just the speed of light make us to having different point of view.
 
  • #37
DevonG said:
...Imagine painting a picture - with no perspective, no angle of view. Obviously such a thing can't exist...

Really? Don't we call that 'sculpture'?
 

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