What If Time Is an Illusion?

What  If  Time  Is  an  Illusion?

• What if the past, present and future all exist at once?
• How do you distinguish between past, present, and future?
• Is there really an order to time?
• Does it only move forward? 
• Does it move in any direction at all?

Stop the clock. Abandon all assumptions. And try to stay calm.

This mind-blowing thought experiment will only take a few minutes… …whatever that means.

 How do you distinguish between past, present, and future? Is there really an order to time? Does it only move forward? Does it move in any direction at all? Stop the clock. Abandon all assumptions. And try to stay calm.

In 1915, Albert Einstein published his general theory of relativity which changed, changes, will change the way we perceive time.

In this groundbreaking theory, he proposed that the laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers. This basically explains why, if you were to watch a car drive past you, you would interpret the car’s passengers as moving at the same speed as the car, since their speed is relative to your position as an observer on still ground.

Meanwhile, inside the car, the passengers feel like stationary objects, since their motion matches the car’s motion, relative to the outside world. But while Einstein’s theory of relative motion could be applied to all objects in the universe, he also realized that one exception to relativity was light.

Light always moves at a constant speed. These two principles led Einstein to conceive of a link between time and space, also known as space-time.

Transcript and sources: https://insh.world/science/what-if-time-is-an-illusion

Sources

• “Are Space And Time An Illusion? | Space Time | PBS Digital Studios”. 2018. Youtube. Accessed December 3 2018.
• “The Illusion Of Time: What’s Real?”. Kuhn, Robert, 2015. space.com. Accessed December 3 2018.
• “Is Time An Illusion?”. Callender, Craig. 2010. Scientific American. Accessed December 3 2018.
• “Why Space And Time Might Be An Illusion”. Musser, George, 2016. Huffpost. Accessed December 3 2018.
• “Does Time Pass?”. Dizikers, Peter, 2018. MIT News. Accessed December 3 2018.
• “TIME Is An ILLUSION Said EINSTEIN – (The Space-Time Continuum)”. 2018. Youtube. Accessed December 3 2018.
• “Simple Relativity – Understanding Einstein’s Special Theory Of Relativity”. 2018. Youtube. Accessed December 3 2018.
• “What Is Quantum Theory? – Definition From Whatis.Com”. 2018. whatis.com. Accessed December 3 2018.
• “Einstein’s Theory Of General Relativity”. Redd, Nola, 2017. space.com. Accessed December 3 2018.
•  “Scott Kelly: ‘I Came Back From Space Younger Than My Twin’”. Anthony, Andrew. 2017. The Guardian. Accessed December 3 2018.
• “Why Is Looking Out Into Space The Same As Looking Back In Time? (Beginner) – Curious About Astronomy? Ask An Astronomer”. Masters, Karen. 2018. curious.astro.cornell.edu. Accessed December 3 2018.
• “Spacetime”. 2018. en.wikipedia.org. Accessed December 3 2018.
• “A Simplified Introduction To Einstein’s Theory Of Relativity”. McFadden, Christopher, 2017. interestingengineering.com. Accessed December 3 2018.
• “Does Time Pass? New Book Says It Does—But Not In The Way You May Think”. Dizikes, Peter, 2018. phys.org. Accessed December 3 2018.

Are Space and Time An Illusion?
Space Time - PBS Digital Studios
SPACE, TIME, AND THE NATURE OF REALITY.

This episode of Space Time is actually about Spacetime, so pull up a chair, grab your favorite snack, and buckle up, because this episode is going to be a TRIP. Gabe explores what reality is, what "time" is, and why what you think those things are is probably WRONG. Seriously, get ready to have your MIND BLOWN!