Quote:
Originally posted by Timber Loftis:
I think any notion of "if you could go back in time" automatically throws out the notion that time is linear - if it is linear, you could NOT go back.
That said, I think time is in fact NOT linear. If it is a dimension, it is of a higher magnitude that the 3rd. You can only percieve your dimension and those of lower magnitudes. Thus, we cannot properly percieve time. But, if it is a higher dimension (I think Einstein said 6th but I could be wrong), then it would have Length, Width, and Height, as well as a few other physical properties. As well, the fact that gravity warps time further supports the notion that time is more than linear.
However, I again reiterate that I percieve time as linear, regardless of the realities of its existence.
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Linearity does not imply uni-directionality... only that time is a continuous one-dimensional function that can be solved for a single state (as opposed to the infinite timeline theory where time at each instant can be solved for infinite states). The unique aspect regarding time (which IMO is the fourth dimension of the universe) is the fact that time appears to be uni-directional as well as linear (which makes it different from the dimensions of space). There are theories regarding how this effect could be defeated to allow time travel,(wormholes being one) but they often have the downside of requireing infinite energy or something equally improbable.
Tricky subject, time. Just like a movie we can define the universe as infinite slices of time during which the state of the universe can be known. With your remote control you can rewind or fast forward, but at T=2:00, it's fixed that the screen will always look a certain way. But as TL said, time isn't an independant variable in the universe, but rather time itself is a part of the equation... gravity affects it, velocity affects it. At this point all we've seen is the ability for time to be affected in the same direction we're going (faster or slower, but always forward)... and most Physicists I've read seem to believe that there is no rewind. BUT, there is a possibility for a DVD-Like JUMP to a different point in the movie. Even if that were so... I tend to think that the movie (the timeline) itself couldn't be changed.
[ 10-14-2002, 05:13 PM: Message edited by: Thoran ]