Why the Flow of Time Is an Illusion • Hacker News Board

Re: Why the Flow of Time Is an Illusion

#11

Post by n4r9 » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:50 PM UTC

7373737373 wrote: post #4

The word 'illusion' should be removed from every dictionary. It's one completely unspecific, indeterminate and misleading word and most subjects or patterns of discourse in which it appears have the same properties. The title of this post also reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Prime Just searching for "* is an illusion" returns - consciousness - choice - spacetime - the world - physical reality - certaint…

> The title of this post also reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Prime

I don't understand what the title has to do with avoiding forms of "to be"? It contains the word "is".

Re: Why the Flow of Time Is an Illusion

#12

Post by jatsign » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:50 PM UTC

Even a skeptic philosopher, who would say most things can't be proven beyond the self, would probably agree that one of the things we have direct experience of is change.

Re: Why the Flow of Time Is an Illusion

#13

Post by egjerlow » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:51 PM UTC

hunta2097 wrote: post #5

I live by a couple of (vaguely related) principles: a) Consciousness is just your brain trying to anticipate the future. b) Your brain compresses (normalises?) repetition in memories. So even if day to day events happen at normal speed, the years seem to fly by when you reflect on them. If your life seems to be flying-by then maybe you need more novelty.

Why would your brain need consciousness to anticipate the future? A computer, which has no consciousness, would be able to do the same.

Re: Why the Flow of Time Is an Illusion

#14

Post by lisper » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:51 PM UTC

7373737373 wrote: post #4

The word 'illusion' should be removed from every dictionary. It's one completely unspecific, indeterminate and misleading word and most subjects or patterns of discourse in which it appears have the same properties. The title of this post also reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Prime Just searching for "* is an illusion" returns - consciousness - choice - spacetime - the world - physical reality - certaint…

"Illusion" is perfectly well defined: it is a perception that does not correspond to any objective reality outside your brain.

Re: Why the Flow of Time Is an Illusion

#15

Post by slackfan » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:51 PM UTC

Considering that the first post isn't "Lunchtime is doubly so" consider your geek cards revoked.

Re: Why the Flow of Time Is an Illusion

#16

Post by GuB-42 » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:52 PM UTC

rc_mob wrote: post #2

Time is just a measurement that we haven’t quite nailed down the definition of yet.

We have a very precise definition of time: a second is "the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom". It is used in a lot of physical equations which are very accurate at describing the universe as we observe it.

There are some philosophical questions regarding time. Questions about the arrow of time, entropy, causality, etc... For instance we may have trouble relating time and entropy, but it doesn't mean both of these concept are not well defined by themselves.

Re: Why the Flow of Time Is an Illusion

#17

Post by simonh » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:52 PM UTC

7373737373 wrote: post #4

The word 'illusion' should be removed from every dictionary. It's one completely unspecific, indeterminate and misleading word and most subjects or patterns of discourse in which it appears have the same properties. The title of this post also reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Prime Just searching for "* is an illusion" returns - consciousness - choice - spacetime - the world - physical reality - certaint…

On it's own in a sentence perhaps yes, but in the context of an in-depth interview in which the author explains exactly what they mean by it I think it's ok. We just need to be aware that many of the words we use can have a variety of meanings, but once that meaning is clear it's useful to be able to continue using the words on their own.

Re: Why the Flow of Time Is an Illusion

#18

Post by empath75 » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:53 PM UTC

7373737373 wrote: post #4

The word 'illusion' should be removed from every dictionary. It's one completely unspecific, indeterminate and misleading word and most subjects or patterns of discourse in which it appears have the same properties. The title of this post also reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Prime Just searching for "* is an illusion" returns - consciousness - choice - spacetime - the world - physical reality - certaint…

An illusion is simply a state where the model of the world created by the mind differs from the world as it exists.

In a pedantic sense, it’s all an illusion, but there are particular illusions where the difference is readily demonstrable — when the magician shows what was hidden in his sleeves, as it were.

In some sense, most of science is exposing the method of various tricks our own consciousness plays on us. We want to know, for example, why metal appears to be shiny— when the phenomenon we’re studying ‘shininess’ only exists in our own minds. There’s no innate ‘shiny’ property in nature.

Time is one of those things where there is a persistent feeling that it must be illusory (which is to say, something created by our minds), but we’re not quite sure exactly in what way or how to prove it.

Re: Why the Flow of Time Is an Illusion

#19

Post by egjerlow » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:53 PM UTC

lm28469 wrote: post #6

If you zoom out far enough everything is just your brain tripping balls trying to process electric signals from faulty/limited sensors.

What exactly is 'tripping balls' if it is not comprised of electrical signals? Saying consciousness is 'just' this thing or another is, in my mind, making trivial the most profound riddle in all of existence.

Re: Why the Flow of Time Is an Illusion

#20

Post by TeMPOraL » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:53 PM UTC

egjerlow wrote: post #13

hunta2097 wrote: post #5

I live by a couple of (vaguely related) principles: a) Consciousness is just your brain trying to anticipate the future. b) Your brain compresses (normalises?) repetition in memories. So even if day to day events happen at normal speed, the years seem to fly by when you reflect on them. If your life seems to be flying-by then maybe you need more novelty.

Why would your brain need consciousness to anticipate the future? A computer, which has no consciousness, would be able to do the same.

Consciousness is how the algorithm feels from inside.