I have developed the thought posted a couple of days ago.
Time: What It Is and What It Is Not
Existent entities, which comprise our reality, all undergo a process of change. The concept of time (both in terms of a general sense of the progression of events, and a quantifiable rate) results from our experience of the sequence of change in the state of any given entity. So, we do not experience time, but change in the objective attributes of entities. Logically, the number of states which are potentially experienceable in any given sequence of change (which includes the experiences of any life-form capable of effecting a detection), is a function of the maximum frequency with which the medium conveying the experiential information is able to differentiate states.
As all entities change, effectively they are all (including us) a 'clock'. If the medium transmitting the experienceable state has a fixed speed (ie it is not altered by the process of experience), then any sequence of change will inevitably be perceived as one directional, and the rate of change experienced will depend on the relative speeds of those involved. (The transmission process will be affected by other factors, but the current argument revolves around spatial considerations only).
For the most part the experienced sequence of change is self-evident, though an objective understanding of the causes explains how and why it occurred, and highlights any potential issues (eg states out of sequence and/or missing/surplus). Indeed, in more complex situations, the fact that any given sequence must follow a logic enables the sorting of experiences and development of objective explanations. But that is entirely different from imposing a sequence upon a set of experiences. It is not creating our reality. Any resultant theory must be susceptible to change if subsequent understanding justifies it.
A rate of change is a useful measuring tool for ordering and quantifying knowledge, especially if the reference point is accurate and unequivocal within our reality. And it happens that one of the most accurate and fixed (ie not altered by the process of experience) rates of change known in our reality is the speed of light. A coincidence, since it is also one of the mediums (the other being sound) which enables experience of a sequence of change, and the rate thereof, in any given entity. However, the two functions must not be conflated. Whether it be the speed of light or an 'apparently' ludicrous rate of change that is chosen as the reference point for the measuring system, that only impinges upon its useability. The system metrics are arbitrary, in the same way that a metre is an arbitrary reference of distance.
The sequence of change in entities exists, they happen at a rate, and the effect of relative speed on perceptions of a rate of change in any given entity is understood. They prompt the concept of time, and in that sense it is valid. Additionally, experience of our reality is only effected at the individual level. But perceived differences in rates of change can be identified, quantified, and explained, as a function of the factors in the process of experience. They are purely an experiential phenomenon and not a constituent of our reality. Therefore, the concept that 'time' varies with each and every experience is incorrect, as is the consequent assertion that 'time' is therefore an intrinsic spatial dimension of our reality.
© Paul Reed
April 2011
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