Time: Does it Really Exist? | Teen Ink

Time: Does it Really Exist?

May 22, 2015
By Theblackshadowchronicles SILVER, State College, Pennsylvania
Theblackshadowchronicles SILVER, State College, Pennsylvania
9 articles 1 photo 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Your hair is Winter fire, January embers." - Stephen King's It.


The complex and structured world of time can certainly be a perplexing topic to discuss - especially since it's so hard to mentally grasp in our minds. The objective of time itself is not only a struggle to argue, but a collage of seemingly day-to-day terms and scheduling that humans - as well as animals - use. But, what exactly is 'time'?
The precise definition of time by dictionaries is noted as: "the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole," as well as "a point of time as measured in hours and minutes past midnight or noon."


So, in a sense, time is considered to be a never-ending string of events, as well as a measurement used by organisms. However, is it really there? If time is forever, then why measure it? Are we really in a zone of time, or is it a mistaken matrix for human life?


According to an article written Andrew Zimmerman Jones, a physics expert, time does exist. "Time is certainly a very complex topic in physics, but there is no real doubt among physicists that time does really, truly exist ... they're just divided a bit on what causes this existence." Jones also stated, "It [time] makes no appearance in physical science except in the study of organisation of a number of individuals."


Since time does not make an appearance, it's ethical to question whether or not if time really does exist or not. It can become an endless loop that will continue for eternity. Jones' article also pertains to the fact that physicists do not entirely know the full ratio of time, and what it's capable of. Jones mentions how a novel titled The Secret written by authors claiming that physicists have proven that time does not exist, has clear flaws in the book. "This and other physics errors in The Secret are perfectly understandable, because the fact is these are very complex topics, and they are not necessarily completely understood by physicists."
If by chance that Jones is correct, and time really does exist, then how can it be grasped? Einstein had mentioned that time is an illusion. If so, then that could mean endless possibilities. Daily schedules are not really of any great importance, just a simple routine taken up by our own brains. It's possible, in our minds, that time is just a figment of our imagination. This could ultimately mean that the human brain takes time as if it were a placebo, where it isn't actually a real procedure, but merely a practice used by living species that helps us cope with problems such as scheduling, and a sense of accomplishment every day. If taken the wrong way, time could then strike as a narcebo effect, where instead of time aiding in our lives, it actually causes stress. Anxiety, sleep deprivation, and anger-issues could then take part in our daily routine. This would explain the correlation between time and the human brain.


But, what if the human brain isn't there anymore?


Once dead, does time still sustain itself? Just because time is happening on Earth, does this also mean that it is happening simultaneously in an after-world?


John Star, a person noted for having NDE (Near Death Experience), believes, "When you die, the fixed measurement of Earth time becomes soft and flexible. It stretches and shrinks like a rubber band. Entering the spirit realm feels like you were there just a few moments ago. Your time on Earth seems like only a brief instance. You can examine the events of your past with great clarity and detail than you ever could in life. You can linger in your past for what seems like hours. When you are done, it seems like no time at all went by. Time can contract and centuries can condense into seconds. Millenniums can shrink into moments and the entire history of civilization can pass by in the blink of an eye. Time and space is no obstacle. You can go in and out of worlds and stay there for as long as you desire. You feel eternal once again. There is no way to tell whether minutes, hours or years go by. Existence is the only reality and it is inseparable from the eternal now." (John Star) Many people have reported with NDE that they can't seem to tell if they're experiencing time or not. It could range from a split second to a million years, and they wouldn't have noticed.


Deciding if time is real or not can be a relatively strenuous concept, and science has not yet fully understood its magnitude. Perhaps it is real. Perhaps it is simply nothing. Whatever the case, the real question is:


How much time have you spent reading this?
 


The author's comments:

I was inspired to write this article because it's something so huge in our every day lives. I decided to break that barrier, and see what's on the other side.


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This article has 1 comment.


Brigid GOLD said...
on Mar. 7 2017 at 8:04 pm
Brigid GOLD, White River Junction, Vermont
11 articles 4 photos 89 comments

Favorite Quote:
"We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars."
-Oscar Wilde

Very, very interesting!! this really made me think...