Board index › Topical Discussion › Politics, Philosophy, and Religion

Does time actually exist or is it just a human invention?

Page 1 of 3 [ 37 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next

Previous topic | Next topic

Fort56
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Posts: 128

06 Jun 2009, 5:05 pm

Does time actually exist or was it just invented by humans to record change?



claire-333
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Age: 54
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,658

06 Jun 2009, 5:18 pm

I hope it exists, because I find it really interesting and incomprehensible all at once. Time illudes me; plays tricks on me, and I constantly find myself chasing it. Seconds and minutes stretching into years and millennia as the earth spins and rotates around the sun. I am fascinated by the fact time moves at different speeds in other parts of the universe.



Last edited by claire-333 on 06 Jun 2009, 6:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ZEGH8578
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Feb 2009
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,532

06 Jun 2009, 5:38 pm

doesnt exist.

energy moves. thats it. call it time. call it "energy moves"

i call it alfred.

seriously.

"whats the alfred?"


_________________
''In the world I see - you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center.''


claire-333
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Age: 54
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,658

06 Jun 2009, 5:40 pm

I never know what the alfred is...



ryan93
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Apr 2009
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,315
Location: Galway, Ireland

06 Jun 2009, 6:04 pm

I think time exists. It is the medium through which change flows (and I guess space is the medium in which this change occurs), and without it consciousness would be impossible, as your thoughts could not change, or be noticed. And afaik time moves at a different rate when an area of space is subjected to intense gravity, so someone could hypothetically see an object moving towards a black hole slowing down as it approached it's centre of gravity. If you can see it, it must be real ;)


_________________
The scientist only imposes two things, namely truth and sincerity, imposes them upon himself and upon other scientists - Erwin Schrodinger

Member of the WP Strident Atheists


Last edited by ryan93 on 06 Jun 2009, 6:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Postperson
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 Jul 2004
Age: 67
Gender: Female
Posts: 4,023
Location: Uz

06 Jun 2009, 6:04 pm

all time is now.



pakled
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Nov 2007
Age: 67
Gender: Male
Posts: 7,015

06 Jun 2009, 6:14 pm

according to Relativistc theory, it exists independent of humanity (whatever Bishop Berkeley says...;)

It's how we perceive time that is unusual...



ryan93
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Apr 2009
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,315
Location: Galway, Ireland

06 Jun 2009, 6:53 pm

Quote:
It's how we perceive time that is unusual...


What do you mean by that??



Keith
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Aug 2008
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,321
Location: East Sussex, UK

06 Jun 2009, 7:09 pm

Time is just a measurement from one point in a day to the next. A way of predicting when the weather will change (summer/winter) so we know how much time we have to prepare.

It's just another measurement like inches, centimetres. It's there so everyone knows exactly how long you mean.

It's just an invention



claire-333
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Age: 54
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,658

06 Jun 2009, 7:32 pm

Keith wrote:
Time is just a measurement...
How does one measure what does not exist?

Keith wrote:
It's just another measurement like inches, centimetres.
These measure space. Are you saying space also does not exist?

Time and Space are the construct which everything occurs.



greenblue
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 Mar 2007
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Posts: 7,896
Location: Home

06 Jun 2009, 7:46 pm

ZEGH8578 wrote:
i call it alfred.

I call it Einstein, for some reason.


_________________
?Everything is perfect in the universe - even your desire to improve it.?


Fayed
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Posts: 286

06 Jun 2009, 8:02 pm

Time is a human invention to observe the changes in the universe. That being said, it is a fundamental part of the universe and as far as we know it is so easy to create, it might as well be a constant in the universe.



claire-333
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Age: 54
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,658

06 Jun 2009, 8:09 pm

Fayed wrote:
...and as far as we know it is so easy to create, it might as well be a constant in the universe.
Echo of Ryan: What do you mean by that?



Fayed
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Posts: 286

06 Jun 2009, 9:59 pm

i mean it seems so intrinsic to the nature of the universe, that we aren't the only ones who have realized it. Animals seem to have some small concept of it ( ie, i eat now, i go play later, and then i sleep when the big bright thing is gone, then i -- SQUIRREL!! !! !! -- wake up and do it again). So while its not actually a fundamental part of the universe ( like mass, gravity, and matter) it is so intrinsic to existence that even lower lifeforms realize it.



claire-333
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Age: 54
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,658

06 Jun 2009, 10:06 pm

Fayed wrote:
i mean it seems so intrinsic to the nature of the universe, that we aren't the only ones who have realized it. Animals seem to have some small concept of it ( ie, i eat now, i go play later, and then i sleep when the big bright thing is gone, then i -- SQUIRREL!! !! !! -- wake up and do it again). So while its not actually a fundamental part of the universe ( like mass, gravity, and matter) it is so intrinsic to existence that even lower lifeforms realize it.
Oh. ok. You threw me off with the words 'easy to create'...which I am still not sure what that means. So then are you saing your answer is 'both'?



timeisdead
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Oct 2008
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Posts: 895
Location: Nowhere

06 Jun 2009, 11:22 pm

Time is the 4th dimension. Without time, no action would have an impact on the future.