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Our brains operate on the principle entropy, therefore we experience time as the macro evolution of the universe along the dimension of increasing entropy. Tim

Our brains operate on the principle entropy, therefore we experience time as the macro evolution of the universe along the dimension of increasing entropy. Time itself does not exist, we merely experience it because it is how our consciousness experiences reality

geysersam 2y ago
Do you mean to say that our experience of time depends on what we see happening around us? If I place you in a room with nothing but a video tape playing backwards, would you experience time going backwards? That doesn't sound plausible.
- garciasn 2y ago
  On a universal scale, time is a distinctly human construct and it clearly warps based on location, distance from Earth, and is heavily influenced by our biology and location in the solar system (days, years, etc). It just doesn’t matter on a universal level.
  - nntwozz 2y ago
    This is not consensus. Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell has a very good video on it: Did The Future Already Happen? - The Paradox of Time https://youtu.be/wwSzpaTHyS8 https://youtu.be/wwSzpaTHyS8 "To be honest, no one knows. What we’ve learned are two possibilities to describe time, but they're not the only ones. Some scientists think that the idea of “now” only makes sense near you, but not in the universe as a whole. Others think that time itself doesn’t even exist – that the whole concept is an illusion of our human mind. And others think that time does exist, but that it's not a fundamental feature of the universe – rather, time may be something that emerges from a deeper level of reality, just like heat emerges from the motion of individual molecules or life emerges from the interactions of lifeless proteins." They touch on block universe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternalism_(philosophy_of_time) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternalism_(philosophy_of_time... …and growing block universe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternalism_(philosophy_of_time) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternalism_(philosophy_of_time... "The growing block universe, or the growing block view, is a theory of time arguing that the past and present both exist, and the future as yet does not. The present is an objective property, to be compared with a moving spotlight." Excellent video worth your time.
- GenerocUsername 2y ago
  OP here, and no, that's not what I mean. What I mean is that since our brains store memories and generally process information utilizing entropic systems, we perceive time as always moving forward. There is no fundamental physical direction to time... But since our experience slides along an axis of increasing entropy, we perceive the whole universe sliding on that axis as well.
MrMcCall 2y ago
> Time itself does not exist, we merely experience it because it is how our consciousness experiences reality That's backwards: Time exists to allow our consciousness to experience change over time. This is because time exists to allow change over time to the physical universe. That said, there is only the ever-present Now in a constantly evolving universe.
- GenerocUsername 2y ago
  Doubtful, but also perhaps a matter of perspective. Time does not exist so we experience it, our experience of existence is a function of our brains integrating and recalling state via entropy. Therefore, our moment of consciousness is sliding along in the direction of entropy, and our entanglements with the universe around us are likewise evolving with entropy

geysersam 2y ago

Do you mean to say that our experience of time depends on what we see happening around us? If I place you in a room with nothing but a video tape playing backwards, would you experience time going backwards? That doesn't sound plausible.

garciasn 2y ago
On a universal scale, time is a distinctly human construct and it clearly warps based on location, distance from Earth, and is heavily influenced by our biology and location in the solar system (days, years, etc). It just doesn’t matter on a universal level.
- nntwozz 2y ago
  This is not consensus. Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell has a very good video on it: Did The Future Already Happen? - The Paradox of Time https://youtu.be/wwSzpaTHyS8 https://youtu.be/wwSzpaTHyS8 "To be honest, no one knows. What we’ve learned are two possibilities to describe time, but they're not the only ones. Some scientists think that the idea of “now” only makes sense near you, but not in the universe as a whole. Others think that time itself doesn’t even exist – that the whole concept is an illusion of our human mind. And others think that time does exist, but that it's not a fundamental feature of the universe – rather, time may be something that emerges from a deeper level of reality, just like heat emerges from the motion of individual molecules or life emerges from the interactions of lifeless proteins." They touch on block universe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternalism_(philosophy_of_time) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternalism_(philosophy_of_time... …and growing block universe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternalism_(philosophy_of_time) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternalism_(philosophy_of_time... "The growing block universe, or the growing block view, is a theory of time arguing that the past and present both exist, and the future as yet does not. The present is an objective property, to be compared with a moving spotlight." Excellent video worth your time.
GenerocUsername 2y ago
OP here, and no, that's not what I mean. What I mean is that since our brains store memories and generally process information utilizing entropic systems, we perceive time as always moving forward. There is no fundamental physical direction to time... But since our experience slides along an axis of increasing entropy, we perceive the whole universe sliding on that axis as well.

MrMcCall 2y ago

> Time itself does not exist, we merely experience it because it is how our consciousness experiences reality That's backwards: Time exists to allow our consciousness to experience change over time. This is because time exists to allow change over time to the physical universe. That said, there is only the ever-present Now in a constantly evolving universe.

GenerocUsername 2y ago
Doubtful, but also perhaps a matter of perspective. Time does not exist so we experience it, our experience of existence is a function of our brains integrating and recalling state via entropy. Therefore, our moment of consciousness is sliding along in the direction of entropy, and our entanglements with the universe around us are likewise evolving with entropy