Perhaps we should first examine
the phrase "all Time exists simultaneously". Most people see Time as having
only one dimension: length. But what if it were to have depth as well?
In such an instance, people could move forwards, backwards, side to side,
and in an infinite variety of other directions and non-directions.In this way, we are forever in the “now” state. However, this “now” is different from the “now” of Linear Time. In Linear Time, the “now” is a definite point along the lengh of the Arrow and one which we are always in. Under the theory of Simultaneous Time, this “now” need not progress. Conceivably, one could forever remain in a fixed position. Few of us do this, however. This “now” has another aspect, as well. It is that, in moving through Time, we need not always remain within our own Time. That is, we could witness the building of the pyramids; watch the destruction of the world; observe the might-haves of other people’s existences, as well as those of the Universe as a whole.
Few people, if any, have come to see and realize this. The ideas of Linear Time and not knowing what the future holds have trapped us. It becomes difficult to free our minds of these restraints in order to get another look at what is occurring and how and when it is occurring. Utilizing the ability of moving to any point in the Time spectrum shows us that there really is no such thing as a missed opportunity. We can always “go back”. In many senses, we can know our “future” before we live it. However, nothing is ever set in stone. The variables surrounding our “future” can never be completely known as every variable chooses its own path. We can know our “future” for one specific scenario, but there are no guarantees that that is our true “destiny”.
All this talk about moving in Time leads to the theory of Time travel. Under Linear Time structures, Time travel is not possible. It turns an individual’s Arrow of Time back on itself and wreaks havoc in the cause and effect department. Perhaps an example would serve to help illustrate this point.
Let us take two people, Damon and Terrah. On March 15, 1997, at 8:00 am, both exist as living human beings. The Universe, too, is in existance at this point. These three have individual Arrows of Time, but the Arrows for Damon and Terrah are connected to the Arrow for the Universe. One way to understand this point is to see the Universe’s Arrow as the Arrow for everything. Damon and Terrah’s Arrows run parallel with this “master Arrow” for a small stretch. (That is, their Arrows as living humans...the atoms and energy composing them existed previously and will contiue to exist, still running parallel to the Universe’s Arrow.) The events experienced by Damon and Terrah will be different, but the Universe will know these experiences and all others. This is how Linear Time percieves things. This theory falls apart, however, when Time travel comes in to play. Suppose that Damon were to discover a Time machine or develop another method for going a direction in Time other than forwards. Damon leaves 1997 at 8:00:01 on March the 15th. He goes "back" in Time to the middle ages, the end of the Roman Empire, and prehistoric Times. He journeys for what, to him and his internal clock, is a week. Not wanting to have missed anything that may have occured in 1997, he returns to his own Time (*) on minute after he left, i.e. at 8:01:01 am.
While Damon has been sightseeing in the past, Terrah has continued to proceed from March 15th to March 16th, 1997, and so on. At the end of what, to her, is a week she is existing at the Linear Time point of March 21, 1997. The individual TimeLines for Terrah and Damon over their past perceived week looks like this:
Damon:
March 15, 1997, 8:00:00
Jan. 21, 1232
Jan. 22, 1232
August 8, 387
May 1, 3008 BCE
May 2, 3008 BCE
March 15, 1997, 8:01:01
| March 15, 1997, 8:00:00 | March 16, 1997 | March 17, 1997 | March 18, 1997 | March 19, 1997 | March 20, 1997 | March 21, 1997 |
When we compare the two weeks, we find that Damon's entire week occured in only a minute of Terrah's. For both, a week has passed, but they do not coincide. So far, however, we have only examined the personal, individual perspective. What of the Universe's perception of these events? Here is where we come across some difficulties. According to the Universe's Arrow, at the point where Damon returned to 1997 he was also existing in the year 1232. In Linear Time, events proceed in only one direction: forwards. Damon, however, has defied this. He continues to move forward along his own Arrow while he goes backwards on the Universe's. Terrah remains in sinc. with the Universe. But after one week, at the point of Damon's return, she gets booted back to 8:01 am March 15, 1997 in order that both of them stay with the movement of the Universe. But now Terrah, too, is moving backwards. In a sense, when Damon returns, the Universe resets itself and everything and everyone within it is forced to reset along with it.
This entire scenario breeds justification for the idea of Simultaneous Time. Damon can move "backwards", Terrah can move "forwards", and they can still meet up at the end of the week. ((These movements (*), however, need not always be physical in nature))This brings in the possibility that Time has a third dimension; height. By "height" is is meant that there are several "nows" happening "at onece". At first glance, this statement appears both non-sensical and obvious. The former in that we are forever experiencing "now", and the latter in that each person has their own "now" which may occur at the same "point" on the spectrum. This point can be expanded and illustrated via our previous example. First, let us compare the Time spectrum to an ocean, complete with waves, undercurrents, and whirlpools. Nearest to the ocean floor we find the Universal "now". Steady, consistent, and seemingly the basis for all else, from it stems the rest. Moving along with the Universe is Terrah. Riding one of the undercurrents we find Damon as he moves back and forth. Terrah and Damon are forever living the Universal "now" along with their own, though their two individual "nows" may not coincide. At a single point, we find (using this example) three different "nows": the Universe's, Terrah's, and Damon's. Thus, we have acheived a third dimension in Time.
The two reactions mentioned above are both true. We are all in the Universal "now", so there is only one, but each of us also has our own personally perceived "now". And so we gain many, all occurring one upon the other in the Universal "now".
But what is this "now" that keeps being referred to? A "now" is not composed of minutes, days, or years. It is merely an instant of Time, long or short or neither, which can not be labled by a marking system.
There is a third theory about Time which is a cross between Linear and Simultaneous. It is this. For the Universe, all Time exists simlutaneously. Thus, we have a plane with undulations flowing through it. Then, for everything else, and upon an individual basis, there is a definite Arrow of Time. People are born, grow, and die. None live this cycle backwards. The way they grow, however, can be seen as progreesive or regressive. As people have moved along this line of birth-growth-death, it is not surprising that certain ideas concerning development have arisen. There has become a set standard for mental capacity expectations as a person moves through the "grow" stage. Those who Time travel back in their minds are said to regress while those who Time travel forward are seen as prodigies. This is simply explained (though, perhaps, over-simply). A person grows and matures for 5 standard years (*) after the moment of their birth. At least three things are possible here (or at any given point).
People can move about on this ocean of Time. They can go in circles, dive beneath the surface, or follow a straight course. Their personal Arrow, however, is fixed in that event (a) happens, then event (b), then (c), and so on. Their Arow could also follow a pattern of event (a), then event (f), then (a) again. But in their mind they will remember the occurances as first (a), then (f), then (a), and not (f)(a)(a) or some other like combination. Individuals can move freeling on the Universal Time Plane, but can not erase a done deed. They can return to the event and make a different decision. Arrow (a)(f)(a) then becomes Arrow (a)(m)(a), but this change does not erase the existance of Arrow (a)(f)(a). Without it, Arrow (a)(m)(a) could not be. In actuality, Arrow (a)(m)(a)'s full sequence is (a)(f)(a)(a)(m)(a) or (a)(f)(a)(m)(a), depending.
The human mind is what breeds the individual's Arrow of Time. Within the human mind there is a system for ordering and structuralizing thoughts and events. This can be seen in language and history. Language attempts to order our thoughts in to something coherent and communicable. History does the same with events. In the human mind, events happen first, second, third, and on down the line. There are several possible reasons for this (the first being the ever popular theory that humans are simply screwed up). One is that, in order for the mind to function, some kind of structure must be instituted. A second theory is that such structuralizing aids in our getting our bearings in a sea of Time and events. Still another is that it helps mark changes within ourselves and within others. And finally (for this discussion) we have ordering for the sake of cause and effect. This is perhaps one of the saddest aspects of modern historical teaching. Everything is viewed on the cause and effect level. In this way, history often comes in to conflict with itself. As much of it is based on fact as on personal opinion. In many cases, the causes and effects of history are more cyclic than anything else. One example lies in the case of war in general. Soceity's attitudes affect the way the war is fought and the way the war is fought affects the attitudes the society holds. It's the old chicken and the egg. The cause is changed by the effect as much as the effect occurse because of the cause. But this chain of cause and effect is more within the mind and the human perception than elsewhere. In history there is no first this, then this. At least not on a grand scale. With individual events, causes can be pinpointed more exactly, though never fully. As with everything, there are always forgotten variables.
All this talk of Time can seem rather confusing, and perhaps this is where Time affects us most. In the mind. People have always played mind-games, be they on themselves or on others. Time and the way we perceive it has done a marvelous job of screwing with our minds. Our vocabulary has been invaded by phrases of Time. Even our grammatical structure of past, present, and future tense is Time based. Time has become absolute ruler of us all. People hurry to work, school, leisure appointments. Time figures in to how much money a person receives, influencing what is seen as survival. People are constantly surrounded by clocks, watches, and calanders. The most common question for someone to be asked by a stranger is what the Time is. The physical body has also been hemmed in by Time; circadium rhythms being a prime example.
We can see that Time has become nearly inescapable, but what caused the creation of this concept in the first place? some of the more obvious answers would be seasons, light/dark, rhythms, and growth. Time first developed as a way to measure events in a similar fashion to how distances are measured. And, like distance, there has yet to be seen any negative-Time. But as we come to understand this topic more, it is not unlikely that something of the sort will be either proven or disproven (using a limited criteria). Until that Time, however, we must content ourselves with exploring just what Time is to us and how we may best live through, with or against it.
1) The person continues to grow and develop at the rate society deems to be "normal"
2) The person's mind goes back to a previous Time and state of being and continues to progress in the opposite direction of most others.
3) The person's mind jumps forward and the capacities of one twice or thrice that age (*) are exhibited. In this case, the person moves in teh same direction as the rest of society, but at a faster pace.
* Actually, the entire week (along with his entire existance) Damon has been living along his own personal Time's Arrow.
* One should realize that movements in Time are not limited to merely the physical or the mental. There are infinite number of possibilites and combinations which may arise. One form is not necessarily the ~only~ form.
* The age of 5 is used as simply an example and should not be viewed as a kind of absolute or standard.
* This is based upon if the person is being compared to someone who's mental growth is proceeding at the socially normal rate.
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