Physics

» woorama - a challenge to western constructs of linear time

i'm the writer for the aboriginal rights section here at suite 101, and i recently did an article using some very basic ideas about relativity to challenge the accepted linear view of time and put forward the possibility that indigenous constructs of time, always referred to as "mythology" are in fact equally as valid and quite possible.

i'd really be interested to see any feedback or expertise you can add to this, which is really out of my field. feel free to link to or blog about the article, or review it, or do a critique or start a discussion or whatever. let me know if you do anything, so i can link to you.

Linear vs Circular Logic

tyson yunkaporta

-- posted by woorama

» kaos42 - a challenge to western constructs of linear time

I read your article "Linear vs. Circular Logic", and I find this a really interesting topic, though more from a sociological perspective than one of physics.

I do however have one technical criticism. You stated that time changes for objects moving away from Earth because the gravity field of the Earth diminishes. As far as I know, this is not true in this way (if you have a source, I'd like to see it). The passage of time does not change for the object itself (relative to itself), but an observer on Earth will notice that the object will slow its passage through time in comparison to Earth. This has nothing to do with the Earth's gravity, but it happens because the object travels faster than the Earth, relative to the Earth. All objects travel at a constant speed through space-time. If you increase your speed through space, you decrease your speed through time. So it is a pretty straightforward relationship.

Now, as for how time is perceived by people (western or otherwise), it is unfortunate that there has been so much discrimination towards different groups of people based on a particular concept of time. Though I'm sure that if how time is interpreted was never a factor in cultural collision, other things would have still given rise to a similar state of oppression and prejudice.

The western concept of time is perhaps only several centuries old, and originated with the invention of reliable timepieces such as waterclocks. Before that, Europeans used natural cycles: day and night, the lunar cycle, and the annual cycle. If colonizing westerners felt that precise timekeeping was a mark of superiority, it was probably because they connected it deeply to the recent advancements in science and navigation that it had helped to bring about, which in turn had propelled them rapidly around the world.

What I find more disturbing, is the continued lack of respect for indigenous thought and philosphies (even indigenous european thought). Anything that isn't rooted in Judeo-Christian-Muslim thought today is considered "fringe", "cultish", or "mythology", even in the secular realm (some more hardened atheists believe it to all be mythology - which is probably more fair than picking and choosing). I think this is unfortunate. All philosphies ought to be considered as equal. This promotes an environment of openess that allows for new thoughts and ideas to emerge.

Science has yet to figure out the exact nature of time. There is an "arrow of time" that implies a specific direction. An egg can fall on the floor and break apart, but an egg can not form from the shards and goo and fall up. Even though it is possible for a egg to reform - it is extremely unlikely to the point of impossible. In fact, when the egg formed originally, it took an awful lot of energy, some of which gets released when the egg breaks (as sound and a pressure wave). Yes, this has to do with entropy. Entropy is basically the the concept that in order for work to be done, energy must be transformed. As it is, some of it leaches away as heat, which is waste energy. It might be used further, but each time it is used, it degrades in quality, and can do less work. Scientists have surmised that the Universe may eventually die a "heat death", where the finite amount of energy in the Universe will become completely useless. This will probably take trillions of years or more - no one is quite sure. If this happens, it would be irreversible.

But still, the arrow of time is a human concept. At the quantum level, the arrow isn't always as obviously present. Particles routinely travel back in time, which is a little odd, but it has been observed and documented in particle accelerators.

Photons, the tiny packets of light, don't really "know" time at all. From the perspective of an individual photon, it is everywhere it will ever be, all at once. It travels at the speed of light (obviously) through space, so it doesn't spend any time traveling through time. Scientists have figured out how to slow photons down, so these tamed photons can experience time.

Several whole fields of physics have arisen after the quantum mechanics revolution in order to explain why quantum particles exist the way they do. All of these fields remain for the moment based on conjecture. At stake is the question "what is the nature of space-time?" M-Theory suggests that our Universe exists on a brane (short for membrane) that exists close but not touching other branes with their own Universes. As simply as I can explain it, M-Theory suggests that our Universe is like a drop of water rolling down an shower curtain. It is bound to the curtain, and is going in one direction, but there is more around even though the droplet knows only the small territory of the surface of the curtain.

M-Theory has garnered a lot of traction lately because it explains a lot about gravity. Gravity is the weakest of the four known fundamental forces (you can lift a paperclip with a magnet - a magnet that is far smaller than the Earth, but has a greater attraction). It is suggested that gravity is not entirely bound to the brane our Universe exists on - leaking most of it's strengh to the environment off the brane. To continue with the metaphor - it's like water molecules evaporating from the droplet on the curtain.

String theory is another field that is trying to explain why particles are the way they are. In some forms, 11 dimensions are suggested to exist. This is another concept that is changing the scientific view of time.

Another important concept that has emerged is that of the existence of parallel Universes (a concept that has been fertile fodder for countless episodes of Star Trek, including one where evil Spock from a parallel Universe is distinguished by a goatee). Parallel Universes resonate deeply with Hindu and Buddhist philosphies, and probably others. Besides being simply parallel, where an infinite number of slightly different Universes exist essentially on top of one another, this concept suggests philosphically that free will is a inherent part of the nature of the Universe. This philosophy is illustrated somewhat akwardly in the film "What the Bleep Do We Know?!" It's interesting stuff to think about.

-- posted by kaos42

» woorama - a challenge to western constructs of linear time

well, thankyou for the best reply to a post i have ever seen! i will revise my wording in the article - might just mention relativity. my source was stephen hawkings in brief history of time, although i may have misread it.

i am working on a few ideas about linking rainbow serpent dreaming to wormhole and superstring theory. if you think about the patterns of wave particles (or packets? how does the uncertainty principle work again?) and if you think about the way almost every indigenous culture on the planet (including the british "wyrm") has a serpent or dragon as a participant in creation or destruction. but still only half-thoughts as yet (so was the other article, to tell the truth!). anyway, if you have any ideas about that, then let me know.

-- posted by woorama

» kaos42 - a challenge to western constructs of linear time

I'm not that familiar with the concept of the serpent - other than a vague notion recalled from the short-lived sci-fi series "Millenium" that had a logo depicting a serpent eating its own tail, and I'm not entirely certain of the meaning of that particular symbol. Could you explain what rainbow serpent dreaming is?

I'm not sure how this relates to wormholes (which are still theoretical), though it is thought that wormholes can form to join two nonlocal points in space, making them as if they were near or local. We really don't know enough about the nature of space-time to say for certain if they are possible, but it is an intriguing concept; it would be a way to step around the limitations of the speed of light. Travel between distant points might become possible. The movie and TV show "Stargate" revolves around this concept (as well as many other sci-fi stories), but wormholes are still only fiction. One major possible limitation is that the act of passing through one might destroy the information in an object (a blackhole destroys the information in objects, but retains the energy of the object), but a again, we really don't have any idea. Now I feel like a big geek talking about sci-fi! :-)

-- posted by kaos42