My life as a blogger of futurism on Plus Ultra Tech has made me think deeply about where we are going. The implications of the technological singularity are so immense that they have led me, and many others, to ask philosophical questions. That is why I am now also blogging here, on Ultra Weekend, to explore the philosophical (sometimes with the aid of legal psychedelics, which btw really bring into light the fact that perception of time, is actually a human sense). This particular blog will explain why I settled on my pen name of The 1st Dimension, here on Ultra Weekend.
So how did it all begin? The word "begin" itself implies time exists. How could time be created at the instant of the big bang, if there was no time before it? It would need a designated moment for it to begin. So, perhaps it didn't begin, it just always was. Well, that theory also implies time, in an infinite state. The fact is our minds are linear. We think in a linear fashion, and there is currently no way for us to process thought otherwise. Just look at the language itself again. The words "process thought" invoke a start of an idea, and a conclusion, which is reliant on a timeline. Emerge, create, explode, collapse; these words are just a few used to explain our universe, but ALL words are dependant on time. Our consciousness is dependent on time, and since consciousness literally plays a role in collapsing possibilities [see Stuart Hameroff interview at bottom of page] it makes sense to conclude that consciousness also influences time, somehow.
Perhaps, we often call time the 4th dimension simply because it was the 4th measurement to be considered a dimension; in addition to width, length, and height. Time was considered to be a spacial dimension as early as the 5th century BCE by Parmenides. [see below video for very brief explanation]
I should mention this video does not explore a new argument against determinism, which is quantum decoherence [again, explained in the below Hameroff interview].
Another argument I see, is that we don't need 3 spacial dimensions for time to emerge. For example: we can explain the flatlander scenario with a time line, and that is a theoretical 2 dimension universe with 2D entities. Thus 2 dimensional universes can theoretically have time. It is imaginable that even in zero dimensional space; just one point with no width, depth, height or position, can pop in and out of existence as if it had a time dimension. Clearly, as the spacial dimensions increase, the possibilities in their world line also increase.
While some speculate that time is not a dimension at all, but rather an illusion of 4 dimensional space, for all intent and purpose, we should consider time the 1st dimension, because we can't speak or think in non-linear terms, yet. Until then, we'll have to keep time around as our first dimension. Psychonaut Terrance McKenna predicted a moment in time he called the Omega Point, a moment in time where linearity ceases. He suggested that the invention of time travel may cause the Omega Point. I personally hope we achieve non-linear consciousness through quantum computing. Until then, may my Ultra Weekend blog name serve as a tribute to Mister Time.
For an excellent explanation of McKenna's The Omega Point click here ->Terrance McKenna: The Omega Point 5a
Stuart Hameroff interview:
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