Is it impossible to fathom that you could be psychic? That you could know the future, and influence the past? Through all of our achievements, from Prometheus stealing fire from the gods, to a single apple sparking theoretical science and forward-thinking civilisation, the idea that we can bend and break time has recurred through all of us. When we discovered Earth was round, when we attributed thunder and lightning to weather instead of gods, when we argued for evolution over creation, even when critical thinking became the norm, we still pondered the meaning of that inexorable and indefinable dimension: time.
Free-thinkers, philosophers and theoretical scientists are now exploring the nature of time in relation to space. People like Stephen Hawking and Dan Falk are proponents of the idea that we know very little about time. Can we wrap our minds around the idea that everything that will happen, has already and is happening? Or is it all part of the Grand Plan, laid down by a higher being or the nature of the universe itself?
Several modern schools of thought believe that time is not a line; it doesn’t begin at one point and end at another. I’m inclined to agree. If we truly appreciate time as the fourth (or fifth, or ninth) dimension, we must imply the same principle attributes we apply to all the others. Space is infinite. Why not time too? And here’s the really messy bit: if time is indeed infinite, there cannot have been a beginning. It must have come from somewhere, true, but never from the start. This would also work for the end. And seriously – do you honestly believe that something as mind-boggling and powerful as time itself (that truly undiscovered country) can be simplified by a clock?
Which brings me to the crux of it – if time has no beginning and no end, wouldn’t it be possible that it is simply another reference point for the universe to compute its Grand Plan? And if that is the case, would it not be possible for us to move it, to shape it and to surpass it? I can certainly see why we scoff at psychics and paranormal enthusiasts, but so too did we scoff at almost every game-changing breakthrough of our race.
Is it possible that we have already, or are currently doing, or are going to do, everything that we have, are and will do? Is it possible that we are simply reliving moments, that we are jumping around in time in our own heads, that everything is a memory and a dream? Scoff all you like, but tell me: how do you know that is not the case? Perhaps we are living every moment at the same time. Perhaps I know already how this blog will end, or when I will die. And perhaps time itself is simply an illusion.
Our minds are extraordinary things. Our souls are far more extraordinary. Perchance one day you wake up, and then you wake up, and you witness your life and your place in the universe and you think to yourself: is it truly all that simple? Perhaps we do this every day. Perhaps, when we sleep or when we die, we have our chance to understand the nature of things.
We are a forward-thinking people – perhaps we are the closest anyone, anywhere among the stars, has ever or will ever come to understanding the nature of this great thing we call the universe. But through all our time on this planet, and on this very plane of existence, we have never once come to understand the nature of time. We still rely on clocks to tell us, but ask yourself this: would you trust a clock with anything else?
Tell me, what makes you think that space is infinite?
I suppose I should have said “potential to be infinite”. While, as far as science knows, you are right to correct me, there is indeed an infinite potential to space. And of course, depending on whether you consider string theory to be plausible, space very well could already have an infinite dimension.
Ahh please I wasnt correcting you, I was just wondering what made you think that space was infinite thats all :)
well i now stand corrected :P
I’m quite a fan of string theory, and the theory that there were/are multiple big bangs, recursively projecting matter into infinite space. Of course, space can only exist if there is a point of reference for it (matter), and time only exists if there is something for it to effect (just as a one-dimensional object can only be measured if given another dimension as a reference point).
So it’s possible space is not infinite or finite, but semi-infinite – it has the capacity for an infinite amount of matter, but the actual space is restricted by the amount of matter in it. Of course, all that makes my brain hurt :)
yes we did have to start somewhere as if there was no starting point we would not exist, but it would be interesting to find out just how far space actually goes, (if there is an end or not). We could be someones experiment in a vacum in a bottle for all we know !! But I do believe that if you look closely at creation and how things are made it is a marvelous wonder and someone created all of this.
The trouble is with the string theory, they cant prove it as it would be quite costly to produce the feats of enginering required. I would have to agree with you when you say it hurts your brain, however if there was a big bang that started the universe, then what was here before the big bang? something had to have caused it!!
String theory has a crack at explaining that by getting quite scifi :P
The idea is that there are teeny tiny strings that make up sub-atomic particles and quantum forces, and then there are huge strings that exist between (or around) dimensions in space and time. These strings are loose, and wave around. When two of them collide together, the force of the collision creates a big bang. It’s really quite elegant, but only if you’re willing to step into science fiction a little further than you should really have to.
I think our biggest problem with trying to understand “intelligent design” (and oh Lord how i hate that term), is that we tend to personify the Creator. Any being that is powerful enough to create a universe couldn’t possibly exist in the realms of our understanding. In fact, I would think that at the end of the day, there wouldn’t be a huge amount of difference either way – we simply don’t have the capacity to understand a plan of that scale, and I think that our understanding of it will never surpass knowledge of the mechanics and physics of how it was done.
I’m giving away far too much great blogging material in the comments!
thanks for the discussion :)
Any time :P
String theory. I tell you, I can never figure out how long it’s meant to be, and it always leaves my mind in knots.
But I think ‘potential to be infinite’ is a great sum-up of a much more complex discussion. Space is as small and restricted as our observation of it, and the more and more we become aware of and experience it, the larger existence becomes.
The closest I get to supernatural beliefs is enough ‘faith’ that the tree is happy to fall, and I’m happy to hear the sound, without the rest of the concept complicating issues.