The End of Time: A Dimensionless Universe Explained

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of a "dimensionless universe" as proposed by a participant's friend, who suggests that both time and space are illusions. The conversation explores philosophical implications, interpretations of quantum interconnectedness, and critiques of the idea, with references to a specific book titled "The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Physics." The scope includes philosophical reasoning, conceptual clarification, and critiques of popular science interpretations.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express skepticism about the idea of a dimensionless universe, suggesting that it lacks clarity and coherence.
  • One participant critiques the notion that time and space are illusions, arguing that such claims are difficult to substantiate.
  • Another participant mentions that the idea of everything being an illusion can lead to confusing philosophical arguments.
  • A suggestion is made that the OP's friend could benefit from studying Plato's allegory of the cave to better understand the nature of illusions.
  • Some participants assert that a space must have dimensions and cannot be dimensionless, referencing mathematical concepts like ℝ2.
  • There is a call for a clearer definition of what constitutes a 'dimension' to facilitate understanding of the discussion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally disagree on the validity and coherence of the concept of a dimensionless universe. Multiple competing views remain, with some participants defending the idea while others challenge its foundations and implications.

Contextual Notes

Limitations in the discussion include a lack of precise definitions for key terms like "dimension" and "illusion," as well as unresolved philosophical implications regarding the nature of reality and perception.

Rodrigo Cesar
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I'm talking to a friend here in whatsapp, he says that he believe in a 'dimensionless universe', look what he said... "let's consider that time is an illusion and since time has such an intimate relationship with space, space is an illusion as well". he said that the concept of universal wholeness (quantum interconnectedness) points to a universe where geometry and dimensions are abstract concepts. The map of the territory but not the territory itself. he got these ideas the book called "The end of time: the next revolution in physics"

what does he means about it? a dimensionless universe? :oldconfused:
 
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Rodrigo Cesar said:
what does he means about it? a dimensionless universe? :oldconfused:

Who knows. The whole paragraph is what we call "word salad".

...time is an illusion...
...therefore (space is as well)...
...universal wholeness (quantum interconnectedness)...
...points to...

None of these phrases mean anything.
 
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Rodrigo Cesar said:
I'm talking to a friend here in whatsapp, he says that he believe in a 'dimensionless universe', look what he said... "let's consider that time is an illusion and since time has such an intimate relationship with space, space is an illusion as well". he said that the concept of universal wholeness (quantum interconnectedness) points to a universe where geometry and dimensions are abstract concepts. The map of the territory but not the territory itself. he got these ideas the book called "The end of time: the next revolution in physics"

what does he means about it? a dimensionless universe? :oldconfused:

Tell him his whole idea is an illusion, especially when he thinks he has learned things sufficiently just from a Pop-Sci book.

Zz.
 
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Thanks, I came here to ask, because I really didn't understand, how would be a "dimensionless universe" lol, very nonsense
 
Tell him that since time and space are illusions, he has nothing to lose by giving you the login and password to his illusory bank account.
 
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Rodrigo Cesar said:
I'm talking to a friend here in whatsapp, he says that he believe in a 'dimensionless universe', look what he said... "let's consider that time is an illusion and since time has such an intimate relationship with space, space is an illusion as well". he said that the concept of universal wholeness (quantum interconnectedness) points to a universe where geometry and dimensions are abstract concepts. The map of the territory but not the territory itself. he got these ideas the book called "The end of time: the next revolution in physics"

what does he means about it? a dimensionless universe? :oldconfused:

I'm personally wary when I hear loosely stated arguments like this about "illusions"; it is so easy to call things illusions, but harder to demonstrate that they are illusions. Illusions of what? And it's easy to go further down that seemingly endless road, e.g X is just an illusion of Y, but Y may also be an illusion of Z and so on...

Clarity is needed IMO. It's friday, so I'm going to listen to some music, I'll start with Imagination - Just An Illusion :smile:.
 
The OP's friend might get some benefit from reading up on Plato's allegory of the cave.

Basically, thinking things are an illusion is an illusion.
 
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Rodrigo Cesar said:
I'm talking to a friend here in whatsapp, he says that he believe in a 'dimensionless universe', look what he said... "let's consider that time is an illusion and since time has such an intimate relationship with space, space is an illusion as well". he said that the concept of universal wholeness (quantum interconnectedness) points to a universe where geometry and dimensions are abstract concepts. The map of the territory but not the territory itself. he got these ideas the book called "The end of time: the next revolution in physics"

what does he means about it? a dimensionless universe? :oldconfused:

The people who say "Everything's an illusion, maaaannn" are some of the most annoying, especially when they try to follow it up with a haphazard understanding of philosophy or physics.

Time isn't an illusion, and space being illusory would have nothing to do with it being dimensionless, and there is no such thing as a "dimensionless" space anyway, because a space has to be a space of something, like the space of all ordered pairs of real numbers (x, y), also known as ℝ2, or the space of solutions to a differential equation.
 
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A good place to start is to reach an agreement on what constitutes a 'dimension'.
 

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