C
Charles Moeller
Vladimir:
CharlieM wrote:
>> More recently, Physicist Dr. Lee Smolin in <i>The trouble with Physics</i> asked in 2006,
>> "How can we represent time without turning it into space?"
---- snip ----
Vladimir E. Zyubin wrote:
> Lee Smolin is right when he try to point out a problem, but his question is
> not correct enough. The situation with time and space is symmetric:
>time -- space
>changes -- objects
>duration -- length
Time and space are not exchangeable, despite Minkowski and Einstein. The time domain is a special circumstance, as one can go perceptively forth and back in space, but not in time. The dimension of time in common usage is also (as well as space) defined as smooth, infinitely dense, and infinitely extensible. In the constructed universe mediated by numbers and arithmetic, the properties of time are generally taken to be the same as, and in fact are mapped onto, a fourth spatial dimension having the general character of extension, or length. We use a counting mechanism to translate time-ticks into the space domain, as can be seen on the faces of our clocks. This practice fits nicely into our arithmetic computers, but it adulterates and obscures the true character of the time domain. <i>Temporal logic</i> in computers relies heavily on numbers and fixed conditions and—wonder of wonders—takes place wholly in the space-domain.
Best regards,
CharlieM
CharlieM wrote:
>> More recently, Physicist Dr. Lee Smolin in <i>The trouble with Physics</i> asked in 2006,
>> "How can we represent time without turning it into space?"
---- snip ----
Vladimir E. Zyubin wrote:
> Lee Smolin is right when he try to point out a problem, but his question is
> not correct enough. The situation with time and space is symmetric:
>time -- space
>changes -- objects
>duration -- length
Time and space are not exchangeable, despite Minkowski and Einstein. The time domain is a special circumstance, as one can go perceptively forth and back in space, but not in time. The dimension of time in common usage is also (as well as space) defined as smooth, infinitely dense, and infinitely extensible. In the constructed universe mediated by numbers and arithmetic, the properties of time are generally taken to be the same as, and in fact are mapped onto, a fourth spatial dimension having the general character of extension, or length. We use a counting mechanism to translate time-ticks into the space domain, as can be seen on the faces of our clocks. This practice fits nicely into our arithmetic computers, but it adulterates and obscures the true character of the time domain. <i>Temporal logic</i> in computers relies heavily on numbers and fixed conditions and—wonder of wonders—takes place wholly in the space-domain.
Best regards,
CharlieM