the chutry experiment

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January 1, 2004

Questions of Time, New Year 2004

The beginning of a new year invariably leads to meditations on the human understanding of time, and this year is no exception. An interesting piece in today's New York Times by Brian Greene focuses on some of the big questions we have about time.

Greene, a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia (and author of The Elegant Universe and the forthcoming The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time and the Texture of Reality), emphasizes the power that conventional representations of time have over everyday experience--notably the fact that every year millions (if not billions) of people gather at public places, religious rituals, or private parties (I had a good time at the party I attended, by the way) to mark the beginning of a new year.

He then discusses the radical changes in our understanding of time over the last century, specifically the changes created by relativity and quantum mechanics and suggests that scientists' views of time will likely undergo a radical change in the coming years:

Today's scientists seeking to combine quantum mechanics with Einstein's theory of gravity (the general theory of relativity) are convinced that we are on the verge of another major upheaval, one that will pinpoint the more elemental concepts from which time and space emerge. Many believe this will involve a radically new formulation of natural law in which scientists will be compelled to trade the space-time matrix within which they have worked for centuries for a more basic "realm" that is itself devoid of time and space.

I'm still trying to grasp exactly how these changes will be articulated, but Greene's discussion of the tendency to compartmentalize time--to separate scientific and subjective representations of time--is quite interesting.

I do have a few other observations that I'd like to work through, perhaps in ways that inform my book project:

• The relationship between the human subject and temporal movement: Greene seems to emphasize the power of the individual over time, commenting that, "In my everyday routines, I delight in what I know is the individual's power, however imperceptible, to affect time's passage." This is something I've been trying to work through lately, specifically how many time-travel films provide individual time travelers with so much power over how events unfold in time
• The cinematic metaphor: Greene describes the subjective experience of time under relativity theory in terms of a "global" freeze frame, with the passing of chronological time unfolding like an "old-time flip-book." If film theorists have described cinema as a type of time machine, then physicists frequently seem to suggest that passing time is an incredibly large film.
• The role of time in everyday life: Greene argues that "Time dominates experience. We live by watch and calendar. We eagerly trade megahertz for gigahertz. We spend billions of dollars to conceal time's bodily influences. We uproariously celebrate particular moments in time even as we quietly despair of its passage." I want to complicate this notion of time, and the references to time's effect on the body will likely be severely challenged as scientists develop "anti-aging" technologies.

(By the way, there's a rumor floating that bloggers can create permanent links to Times articles without having to pay for access. Any suggestions or information would be welcome.)

Update: Thanks to Jason J and Invisible Adjunct, here is the New York Times link generator.

Jason also links to The Weather Project at the Tate Museum, which reminds me to think about the connections between representations of time and weather (but I'll put that project on hold for now).

Posted by chuck at January 1, 2004 8:39 PM

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Comments

Posted by: JBJ at January 1, 2004 10:04 PM

Posted by: chuck at January 2, 2004 12:48 AM

Posted by: Steve Shaviro at January 2, 2004 1:42 AM

Posted by: chuck at January 2, 2004 2:26 PM