Saturday, July 09, 2005

Life is a fantastic illusion

I'm reading this book right now about time, space and Einstein. It follows all the philosophical and physics developments leading to Einstein and then how all of this is being interpreted today. I find it riveting as we go through proofs that time and distance are not "real" (because they are relative quantities, therefore variable, it depends on who is observing the time or distance) In addition this leads to a view of the universe where past, present and future all exist simultaneously, that the flow of time is an illusion, that the universe is really static slices of "present" all lined up giving the impression of movement through time.

In addition, there are proofs that true motion doesn't exist at all.

These are powerful ideas and make you question the nature of existence itself. What does it mean to exist?

If you could travel faster than light, you could easily skip to the past or the future in your "present" body. (This demonstrated by proofs, though of course how to travel faster than light?)

There is enough energy in the atoms of your body to shatter the earth completely.

I'm only half way through the book and it's tough reading, but mind blowing. It's giving me a whole new way to interpret "The Matrix".

And now I am revisiting my old philosophical nemesis: Are thoughts real?

Ok, prove it.

1 comment:

r said...

If thoughts aren't real, then does proof matter anyway?