A Critical Evaluation by Theodore Spencer Van Dyk
Stephen Hawking
A Lengthy Review of Time
Time is long.
Very long.
It extends in both directions: backwards and forwards.
So far we've only learned how to travel through time forwards at a set rate, though you can trick yourself into thinking you've traveled to a different time by placing a box on your head for the interval of time that you want to travel through.
Some people think that time extends infinitely in both directions. Some people think time had a beginning, and will have an end. Some people think time and space are one in the same. Some people think god made time. Some people think that time only exists because we are perceiving it.
Stephen Hawking
When Did Time Start?
Personally, I think time started with the invention of the clock.
Before there was such thing as a clock, no one was ever able to tell what time it was, so there was no way to be aware of a passing of time. If we don't think about the fact that time is passing, then it is impossible to even formulate the concept of time.
Why Time?
Why, you might ask, would anyone invent a clock if time had not yet been formulated as a concept?
The answer is that it was very confusing for people to keep track of their arrangements by the exact position of the sun, and often hurt their eyes by staring at it while trying to figure out its position in relation to the earth. To solve this, an inventor made up the clock. This was brilliant, because now people could see where the sun was on a device instead of hurting their eyes by staring at it.
Stephen Hawking
And that's why today, we have time.
Time Travel?
You might be wondering: can we go back in time by turning a clock backwards?
The answer is: maybe.
We just don't know. No one has tried it yet.
Barack Obama
Sources:
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