h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Can we define time in a way that is not tautological? Many of the words we might choose to use have the concept of time embedded in them: hence my thought of tautology. Any grammatical structure with tense has our concept of time embedded in it, as do words and phrases such as "before", "after", "and then", "sequence of events", "during", "by now", "when" and so on. The list seems almost endless.

The only approach I can think of that *might* work is to withdraw from the real world, into the fantasy land of mathematics and physics. Time is an axis on a graph, a dimension akin to length, along which things have some freedom of movement. The 'now' in which people live is a point on this axis, moving at a steady rate in one direction: toward the future.

What *is* time?

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

'Time is nature's way of preventing everything from happening at once'

The standard description of serial time depends on the concept of present, past, and future:

There is no present, for the future becomes the past before the temporal process of perception and interpretation can be completed. The 'present' is a theoretical line of demarcation like the equator

There is no past, because there is no 'event', and no 'present' to become such

There is no future, because there is no 'where' for 'it' to come from

Therefore there is no such thing as serial time, apart from an occasionally useful theoretical construct

Time is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so.

Ahem.

Anyway. I don't think one can define time. In thinking about the world, either philosophically or scientifically, you need to have undefined terms and concepts. Time is, to me, clearly one of these.

Hi P-c,

"The only approach I can think of that *might* work is to withdraw from the real world, into the fantasy land of mathematics and physics."

I'm inclined to suspect that the 'real world' is the fantasy land and the only real structure *is* that of mathematics and possibly less so physics.



F

Maps and territories, Fathom, maps and territories!

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

patternchaser you're so beautiful tre are real ears in my eyes. andi have only had one coffee. everything about this article is beautiful and unlike me you fix your own sp errirs.

thanx

With that many 'errors' I have to think you're making a deliberate style statement. Thanks for dropping by!

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"