What If There's No Present?

That it our major flaw, our perception. We have extremely limited means of perception and according to that we assume that we are viewing reality, but it's not the case. We should develop our senses and only after that we are capable of seeing reality.
Click to expand...
A bit off the subject, but would like to comment on your perception of perception not being reality. I tend to think, my reality may not be your reality, due to different perceptions, but it is still my reality.To answer OP question, there is a present, as explained so thoroughly by

aboleth_lich

with the present being few milliseconds, it still exists.

Some good reads on the subject, well at least I found interesting, are by Kant and St Augustine. So, yeah this question of time in the past, present, and future has been pondered for a long time.

For example, back to the subject of perception, Is space and time dependent upon the mind for existence to identify the present,led me to an article from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, on Kant's Views on Space and Time, but a bit over my comprehension (still need to sort through his philosophy).

Now, I am not inferring that space and time can not exist without my mind, but more is my or your perception of space and time dependent on our minds? St Augustine writings suggest, "knowledge" of time can basically not exist unless someone has a way to measure the passing of time.

"I said then even now, we measure times as they pass, in order to be able to say, this time is twice so much as that one; or, this is just so much as that; and so of any other parts of time, which be measurable. Wherefore, as I said, we measure times as they pass. And if any should ask me, "How knowest thou?" I might answer, "I know, that we do measure, nor can we measure things that are not; and things past and to come, are not." But time present how do we measure, seeing it hath no space? It is measured while passing, but when it shall have passed, it is not measured; for there will be nothing to be measured. But whence, by what way, and whither passes it while it is a measuring? whence, but from the future? Which way, but through the present? whither, but into the past? From that therefore, which is not yet, through that, which hath no space, into that, which now is not. Yet what do we measure, if not time in some space? For we do not say, single, and double, and triple, and equal, or any other like way that we speak of time, except of spaces of times. In what space then do we measure time passing? In the future, whence it passeth through? But what is not yet, we measure not. Or in the present, by which it passes? but no space, we do not measure: or in the past, to which it passes? But neither do we measure that, which now is not."

http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/augconf/aug11.htm

So, thanks for asking such an interesting question about the present time. Enjoyed reading all the replies.



 
Not sure why anyone hasn't addressed this yet, but in terms of science and related stuff, most physicists subscribe to B-Theory time. Which basically says that the 'present' is simply the perceived location along an equally existent timeline. Meaning that there's not really a present, but rather 'no' present, unless you are observing a point, which we can then call the present.

Personally, I think the probability thing is on key. With the current observed present simply being the perceived outcome of a probabilistic wave. That is, different outcomes can be observed from different probability waves, with every outcome being equally as real (similar to MWI). This is further supported with recent experiments on wheeler's delayed choice thought experiment. The probability waves are collapsed when they need to be, which generates a perceived present. Thus, a time machine would only need to collapse waves in an intended way. AKA, view a different "present".

 
I've been pondering about this thought for a long time now. I was thinking, what if there's really no such thing as the present time? What if we are just merely the past or the future? If there is indeed a present time, what if this is not the real present time? Well, if you jumble it all we actually end up in all 3 timelines. We are indeed the past of the future and the future of the past. So where is the real present time? This may seem confusing which only logic could seem to answer but I would like to know your thoughts on this.
Click to expand...
Our perceived present becomes our past. Our past was someone's future once. Our future because our past eventually. It is all the same. Our consciousness compartmentalizes time and creates order out of chaos.

 
Hmm i actually think there is ONLY present ....all past or future ourselves on this and different worldlines are just our very own present existances.

 
We evolved our sense of the present and our sense of time. The smallest length of time is 5.39056e-44 seconds, or a single plank time, but we do not sense each individual unit of time. Instead we sense strips of time, like strips from a movie film as our present as that is being processed by our central nervous systems. The present time that I sense, is going to be different from everyone else's present, even if only slightly. Based on Einstein's theory of relativity, we all experience time slightly differently relative to movement and the speed of light.

In that sense, the present does not exist in the sense that we think it does, but rather as only a connection between the past and the future.

 
Hmm i actually think there is ONLY present ....all past or future ourselves on this and different worldlines are just our very own present existances. , you just agreed to what i said ....lol

 
I've been pondering about this thought for a long time now. I was thinking, what if there's really no such thing as the present time? What if we are just merely the past or the future? If there is indeed a present time, what if this is not the real present time? Well, if you jumble it all we actually end up in all 3 timelines. We are indeed the past of the future and the future of the past. So where is the real present time? This may seem confusing which only logic could seem to answer but I would like to know your thoughts on this.
Click to expand...
Your answer is the intrinsic now is where the present exist, you can partion time to any interval that suits you, but this action takes place in the intrinsic now within the event space of the 3D universe if you ever get lost and need directions to the present

 
I have heard say that all we see is the present moment because we can only see time as a cross section given the higher dimensional nature of time and that cross section is 'the present moment'.

Like how abbott flatlanders can only see 3-d items as cross sections

 
An interesting idea. People usually seem to spend too much time living in the past or living in the future. Whether or not it is an illusion I do not know know. But in my opinion it is better to live in the present and by making decisions now attempt to change what happens in the future. Time itself is an illusion, because it is impossible to define the word time without indirectly using the word time to define it.
Click to expand...
Well, Time itself is a Relatively new Dimension to us.We just started categorizing it as a new dimension a while ago, and it isn't exactly taught in elementary school math as a Dimension.

 
Currently, our best instrument to measure time is an atomic clock. That data will be fed to a computer and then fed to a human for analysis. That's a lot of inaccuracy, especially since your measurement tool exists in time too. It's like trying to get an accurate measurement of an experiment with your tool in the test chamber itself, being affected by the results.

One example would be tying to unravel the code of the Matrix (movie) while living inside the Matrix itself. Neigh impossible.

 
I have heard say that all we see is the present moment because we can only see time as a cross section given the higher dimensional nature of time and that cross section is 'the present moment'.Like how abbott flatlanders can only see 3-d items as cross sections
Click to expand...
Flat-landers would only experience time as a 1-D Line segment of time, due to a loss of a dimension. any 3-D cross section would be outside the Flat-lander's reality

 
There is no present. The reason for this is because light travels at a speed. The actual number is irrelevant at the moment. Because it has a speed, it takes an amount of time to reflect off a visible presence and reach your eye for you to process and comprehend. Einstien said that nothing is instantaneous, if it were, we would live in the "present." The only way for anything to be instantaneous is for it to be traveling at infinity meters per sec. Since light travels less than infinity, we must live in the past because once we capture that one picture another one has already past. That's my opinion.

 
Back
Top