Uncovering the Mysteries of Time: Understanding its Stretch and Rhythm

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the nature of time, specifically questioning its flow, the concept of events occurring in a chronological order, and the implications of time not being experienced uniformly by all observers. Participants explore theoretical, philosophical, and psychological dimensions of time.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the fundamental nature of time and its ability to stretch events, seeking to understand why events are ordered chronologically.
  • Another participant critiques the notion of "time stretching," suggesting it oversimplifies the complexities of relativity and recommends studying the relativity of simultaneity.
  • A different participant raises a question about the interpretation of time's flow, proposing that it may be a psychological or philosophical issue rather than a purely physical one.
  • One participant suggests that the concept of entropy could provide an explanation for the non-simultaneity of events.
  • Another introduces an anthropic perspective, positing that the existence of time is a precondition for the ability to ask questions about it.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the nature of time, with no consensus reached on its fundamental characteristics or implications. Some focus on physical explanations, while others consider philosophical interpretations.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various concepts such as relativity, entropy, and the anthropic principle, but the discussion remains open-ended with unresolved questions regarding the definitions and implications of time.

DLeuPel
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I have a question. I know that events don't happen simultaneously but rather they are ordered chronologically by time, but why? What is time and how does it stretch events and why does it have the rhythm/flow that it currently has?
 
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"Time stretching" is a very unhelpful way of thinking about it, and anything that you've read that talks about time stretching has probably been badly oversimplified. If you're serious about understanding relativity, you could start with the relativity of simultaneity (Google is your friend here) or a textbook at the level of Taylor and Wheeler's "Spacetime Physics".

The best answer to your other question - "what is time?" - comes from Einstein: Time is what a clock measures. It's worth Googlng that phrase just to see what he was getting at.
 
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DLeuPel said:
I have a question. I know that events don't happen simultaneously but rather they are ordered chronologically by time, but why? What is time and how does it stretch events and why does it have the rhythm/flow that it currently has?
What do you mean by "stretch events?" Do you mean to ask why it is that not all observers agree on the time that occurs between two events?

As for "why does time seem to flow," that's either a philosophical/psychological/neurological question, or its asking a question that has no answer other than "because that's how the universe is," I'd wager.

It could be that time doesn't actually flow, but our brains just take input and interpret it that way. Who knows? Someone here with an advanced degree in physics would be better positioned to answer that one, but based on what little I know I'm not sure if that's really a physics question.
 
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One could possibly give an anthropic explanation that if there was no time and therefore no motion, we would not be able to ask that question. So the fact that we are here discussing this has pre-selected the condition of a universe with a time dimension.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic_principle
 
DLeuPel said:
events don't happen simultaneously
rootone said:
We would be in deep doo doo if they did.

I feel like that would be a "big bang" :smile:
 

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