Time...What is it

[eagleskickass]

This sorta came out from the debate over believing in God, and sorta just from me thinking about a recent development in my social life
Time...what is it really, it is a man-made invention designed to give us meaning, hope and most importantly a beginning and an end in which we can call past and future, when it really has no meaning except for the superficial meaning we give it. 1 hour is but a blip on the eternal timeline of existence, so what does it REALLy mean?

Thoughts?

 

[NYPomme]

Originally posted by Brett Li
Time: Precious commodity, best spent not answering the above.

LMAO

 

[jod23]

Originally posted by Brett Li
Time: Precious commodity, best spent not answering the above.

LOL

Seriously...time doesnt exist. We invented it as a way to record events or keep track of life i suppose.

 

[Danny Chook Fan Club]

It's the first three words of Hazy Shade Of Winter.

 

[TheMase]

Originally posted by eagleskickass
This sorta came out from the debate over believing in God, and sorta just from me thinking about a recent development in my social life
Time...what is it really, it is a man-made invention designed to give us meaning, hope and most importantly a beginning and an end in which we can call past and future, when it really has no meaning except for the superficial meaning we give it. 1 hour is but a blip on the eternal timeline of existence, so what does it REALLy mean?

Thoughts?

Ahh yes... the arguement we were having....

Time does not exist. Our lives more on, but time is just a way of measuring that. Nothing more, nothing less.

Just gives us a meaning to things.

Humans cant comprehend anything without a start and an end, so therefore they have to have something for them to believe that someone/something 'started' the world. ie. god.

But the truth IMO is that the universe, and earth were always here. Humans cant comprehend that because they need a start and an end, which is in fact 'time' and time is non-existant, so therefore there doesnt have to be a start and an end, we just tell ourselves that, to have it all make sense, and for us to have an explaination.

 

[eagleskickass]

Interesting thought

They say we exist in time, or a plane of time, but as time doesn't REALLY exist, do we?

hehe

 

[Sydneyfan]

Time is another example of humans' way of measuring whatever they can that is measurable. They discovered that there was a cycle involved in the Earth's movement round the sun and the moon's movement round Earth and started from there.

The western calendar (Gregorian I think it's called) is the one used worldwide for business and the one we use, but the Islamic world and other parts of the world still use completely different calendars if at all. In some indigenous communities round the world they'd be no such thing as a calendar or time but in western society time has become an essential commodity as valuable as money or gold.

Time will continue to be measured as long as humans want it to be, though the cycles of the moon and Earth round the sun will continue nevertheless (or until some major calamity occurs!).

 

[FIGJAM]

Time is a created dimension.

Time is space, or more specifically, time is an effective way of measuring events in space.

Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time outlines this theory in greater detail.

As for this discussion being a waste of time, it is like saying that sitting on a beach is a waste of time. It isn't...it's good for your soul!

Thinking about the nature of the universe and having as great an understanding of it as I can possibly muster, brings me closer to "God" than any religion ever will!

 

[BomberGal]

Re: Re: Time...What is it

Originally posted by TheMase


Ahh yes... the arguement we were having....

Time does not exist. Our lives more on, but time is just a way of measuring that. Nothing more, nothing less.

Just gives us a meaning to things.

Humans cant comprehend anything without a start and an end, so therefore they have to have something for them to believe that someone/something 'started' the world. ie. god.

But the truth IMO is that the universe, and earth were always here. Humans cant comprehend that because they need a start and an end, which is in fact 'time' and time is non-existant, so therefore there doesnt have to be a start and an end, we just tell ourselves that, to have it all make sense, and for us to have an explaination.

Well, that's your theory. You can't just say "that's right."

 

[TheMase]

Re: Re: Re: Time...What is it

Originally posted by BomberGal


Well, that's your theory. You can't just say "that's right."

I never said it is right, it is a theory that could be true.

Much more realistic than an immortal being that created the whole universe

 

[SonOfScray]

Time is the name of a magazine.................
it also a unit of measure for the speed and distance one travels.

 

[BomberGal]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Time...What is it

Originally posted by TheMase

I never said it is right, it is a theory that could be true.

Much more realistic than an immortal being that created the whole universe

You said "time does not exist." That's a definite statement.


The religious story is more one of faith - it is the religious version of how we started - many religious people would not argue with science, but they just describe it like the bible does. Just like Adam and Eve really.



Time does exist, we are living it. Time is life. It is a measure. Like 'centimetres' - they aren't tangible, but they are there. We can't say time is not there, because otherwise neither would we be. We didn't invent it as such - we just created a name for it.

 

[clucas91]

To me, time is just an artificial concept of man. We created the concept of time to keep track of where we are...I was really quite puzzled at the amount of people who predicted doom and gloom at the turn of the millennium, I mean, what IS the year 2000?

The year 2000 does not exist, we just call it that. Why would some kind of catastrophic event occur at THAT specific time? Mother Nature has no grasp of time.

So, all in all, time is meaningless for me, I only use it to meet deadlines.

 

[sussudio]

Originally posted by eagleskickass
Time...what is it really

something that allows the serious (and not so serious) horological enthusiasts to appreciate the beauty of a finely crafted watch

 

[FIGJAM]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Time...What is it

Originally posted by BomberGal
Time does exist, we are living it.

That's right. Time is space. It is the fourth dimension.

 

[BluesBabe666]

Time just is... but our measurement of time, seconds, minutes, days, is man made... stuff.

 

[TigerCraig]

woah deep

 

[clucas91]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Time...What is it

Originally posted by BomberGal
Time does exist, we are living it.

How can we be living in a concept? Time is just a 4 digit number on your watch to tell you how late you are for work. Time is meaningless.

What is the year 2002? The year 2002 is simply the 150 billionth year of this planet, 2002 is just what we call it.

 

[aggels]

I don't understand this stuff, I failed year 12 physics quite specatuclarly. So I'm going to make myself look like a complete goose here, and I'm really only asking questions so that someone who actually understands this stuff can make me feel stupid as well as looking it...

So what is it that allows us to measure what we percieve as time, if it doesn't exist? If it doesn't exist, how does the second hand on a watch move with regularity? Or are we just percieving it as regularity? And how is it that the second hand on my watch moves with the exact same regularity as my friends watch at the other side of the world? If time is non existant could the second even move at all, considering it is moving with a regular period of time?

If time doesn't exist, when I move from one part of the room to another, am I really on both sides of the room? Is everything existing concurrently on different planes? Am I now existing in a different reality to the one I thought I was living in, what I'd call, a few minutes ago? What is it that has teleported me from that reality to the one I'm in at this very (what I would call) moment, if it isn't time?

And if I believed that time doesn't exist, could I win a race against Cathy Freeman, by just skipping a couple of realities?

Okay yes, this does time exist stuff is too big for my little human mind to handle.

 

[aggels]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Time...What is it

Originally posted by clucas91

Time is just a 4 digit number on your watch to tell you how late you are for work. Time is meaningless.

What is the year 2002? The year 2002 is simply the 150 billionth year of this planet, 2002 is just what we call it.

Yes, but in that case, time still does exist, it's just that our measurements are man-made, just like our measurements of a kilometre, or a kilogram are manmade.

 

[clucas91]

Originally posted by aggels
If time is non existant could the second even move at all, considering it is moving with a regular period of time?

A watch is just a small device that moves a little hand in a 360 degree rotation. It is designed to move at that speed, thus giving the illusion that it is moving at a 'timed' rate.

 

[BluesBabe666]

Shuddup Craig.

I dont think time is meaningless, because we get old, grass grows, etc. Time is something real, it happens, its there. But i think our measurement of time, from seconds to decades and all in between, is meaningless.

 

[BluesBabe666]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Time...What is it

Originally posted by aggels


Yes, but in that case, time still does exist, it's just that our measurements are man-made, just like our measurements of a kilometre, or a kilogram are manmade.

exactly!! IMO anyway.

 

[clucas91]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Time...What is it

Originally posted by aggels


Yes, but in that case, time still does exist, it's just that our measurements are man-made, just like our measurements of a kilometre, or a kilogram are manmade.

This is very difficult to explain, 'time' as you suggest it is, is not a physical/tangible item is it? If that is the case, why would man need to make a measure of it?

We created time to keep track of where we are, just so that we could have a multi-national standard of 'when' we are.

 

[aggels]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Time...What is it

Originally posted by clucas91


This is very difficult to explain, 'time' as you suggest it is, is not a physical/tangible item is it? If that is the case, why would man need to make a measure of it?

We created time to keep track of where we are, just so that we could have a multi-national standard of 'when' we are.

I'm sorry, I don't think I'm comprehending what you're trying to say. We need to measure it because it exists, and you're right, the measurements we use help us keep track of things. But just because the only reason we use measurements is for our benefit, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It may be meaningless, but it still exists.

Like I said, I'm hopeless with all things physics, and I'm also finding this difficult to articulate. However, what I was trying to say was... I'm at school, I'm at home, I'm shopping, I'm having a shower, I'm working, I'm young, I'm old. What seperates these things? Are these all true? Or does something seperate them? If it isn't time that seperates them, what is it? You mentioned speed before, but how does speed work without time? I'm not stuck on either side, so you may well convince me, if you (or anyone else for that matter) can explain this to me.