4 ms·
We need precision here. The intuitive notion of time that you start from has a lot of structure. The question is where does this structure originate? Is there
by Certhas 9y ago
We need precision here. The intuitive notion of time that you start from has a lot of structure.
The question is where does this structure originate? Is there a fundamental thing "time" that has direction, irreversibility, a moment of now, memory of the past?
It doesn't appear so. Instead it seems that most of these properties emerge for complex systems.
If the universe was a box of gas there would be none of the above. So we conclude that time direction, memory, irreversibility, etc... are features of particular configurations of matter that we experience. A universe with the same laws of physics but without these features is conceivable, so they are not fundamental.