I know everything about everything. - Debate me about anything. (50 cent, quote)

~~The Unfan~~ · 12-12-2008, 04:41 AM

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Originally Posted by mr dave

does time have a linear existence if we aren't here to measure it?

Assuming time is linear, yes. It isn't like if we stopped existing everything else would stop existing with it, just our perception of it. However as long as events happen, even without anything to witness or measure them, there is necessarily a time at which it happened. Human activity and perception do not determine the existence of nor the order in which events happen. With or without us time would remain the same.

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Originally Posted by dac

Debate and win all of WendyCal's arguments to Sleepy Jack... And GO!

Thats the easy part. The hard part would be doing it without him banning me.

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Originally Posted by goldenlaw

If life was a snail and it was surrounded by salt who do you believe would play santa in the year 2042 ?

John Edlund.

cardboard adolescent · 12-12-2008, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Unfan

Assuming time is linear, yes. It isn't like if we stopped existing everything else would stop existing with it, just our perception of it. However as long as events happen, even without anything to witness or measure them, there is necessarily a time at which it happened. Human activity and perception do not determine the existence of nor the order in which events happen. With or without us time would remain the same.

What is an event? For an even to be an event, does it not need to be observed? That seems to be implicit in the definition. If everything we know is the result of observation, how can we possibly know what is beyond the realm of observation? Also, you say that human activity cannot determine the order in which events occur. That's just not true, Einstein proved that there was no such thing as synchronicity and that seeing two events as simultaneous depends on your reference frame/speed.

~~The Unfan~~ · 12-13-2008, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cardboard adolescent

What is an event? For an even to be an event, does it not need to be observed? That seems to be implicit in the definition.

Perhaps event is the wrong word. However if an apple falls out of a tree and no sentient thing is there to witness it, it still occurred. Which was my point, something doesn't need to be witnessed for it to happen.

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If everything we know is the result of observation, how can we possibly know what is beyond the realm of observation?

Oh so deep man. Welcome to science.

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Also, you say that human activity cannot determine the order in which events occur. That's just not true, Einstein proved that there was no such thing as synchronicity and that seeing two events as simultaneous depends on your reference frame/speed.

Relativity accounts for observation and basic senses, however I'm inclined to disagree with it accounting for "real" time. If you moved fast enough around something you could technically see yourself in two places, but you wouldn't actually say you're in two places. I do suppose there is a sort of perceptive relative time though.