Space & Time/illusiion

[nohorn]

If one accepts that time and space are an illusion (theory), (or is it universally accepted?), forgive me for the pun......... what therefore is the suggested proof?

I hope someone does understand what I am asking? I know prof....Jake.....old geezer.......etc are out there

Thank You and please don't yell at me

[beso]

Illusionary Space and Time is not a theory but a hypothesis wioth no good reason to accept it.

[jake-the-peg]

I think we'd better start with some words

Proof is a tricky word - it a quite hard meaning in Mathematics but becomes a bit more subjective outside of it.

In the phycal world you form a hypothesis, make predictions based on that and then make observations. If those observations fall within a sufficient statistical level then than constitutes "proof"

That statistical measure is called five sigma and is roughly the same as tossing a coin 20 times in a row and getting the same result.

Now we have a problem in your hypothesis it's round the wrong way. We observe everything in the context of space and time so we should be asking if there is evidence that there is a deeper reality underlying this - I think that's a better way to ask what I think you're asking.

You could point out that Relativity already showed us a deeper reality of space and time - the notion of time as an unchanging fixed entity was given the lie by that.

I think though you might be most interested by some the idea string theorist Leonard Susskind has on the Holographic Universe

This is a bit of a "hippy trippy" interpretation but the Wiklipedia one is a bit technical

http://www.crystalinks.com/holographic.html

[Kayless]

As Ford Prefect says, "Time is and illusion, lunch time doubly so"!

[Old_Geezer]

Ì think the previous answers have more or less summed it up. It's nowhere near 'theory standard' at present. The strange nature of time tends to encourage me to personally believe it is probably an illusion, but it's more of a personal preferred way to look at it. Proving it is not something one can even start to do at present. But there are plenty of popular science publications out there on the possible nature of time and space, and they're fun to browse as long as they don't get too heavy with equations & theory.

[dance2trance]

There is neither time nor space they are illusions. What are they made from? Can you touch them? Are they human mind projections? if you did not exist would they? Do they exist when you are asleep? or when you do not exist? How do you know? As mentioned elsewhere, these days its all 'string' theory and schroedingers cat and multi-universes look it up on Wiki Wacky pedia.

She blinded me with science to quote Thomas Dolby's big hit!

[jake-the-peg]

OK dance2Trance let me demonstrate quantum wierdness to you

No big accelerators or fancy equipment needed just 3 pairs of polarising sunglasses.

hold one pair up to the light

Now hold the other pair in front of it at 90 degrees to it

No light gets through? Yes? so far so normal?

Now put the third pair in between them at 45 degrees

You'll start to see light through again!

[nohorn]

Oh thank you! I am very impressed with your answers........AB is wonderful

[jomifl]

Time is a fundamental property of the physical universe, but time as experienced by humans is very much an illusion being configured by the brain to suit it's own purposes. We have a heating pipe in our loft which occasionally makes a bang as it expands or contracts. Sometimes in the night I am awoken by the noise but don't 'hear' it 'til a fraction of a second later. It seems that the primitive part of my brain reacts to the noise by waking me up and 'startling' me while the conscious 'intellectual' part identifies the noise and then tells me it is a 'bang'.
This must happen throughout our lives yet we are unaware of it most of the time as our brain massages the data to get a good fit. So yes on a subjective level time is an illusion.

[ll_billym]

Time and Space are merely descriptors for what we observe.

No two 'things' can exist in exactly the same area, there is no room for more than one 'thing'. More than one 'thing' exists, this is space.

Events occur either 'before', 'after' or 'at the same time as' other events. This is time.

The above are just descriptors for natural phenomena as observed by the human brain but, as Occams Razor says, it is far more likely that we observe things as they actually are (i.e. in separate space and time), than everything happening in the same place at the same time, and it is our brains that are making us think that they are separate.

[blueboy89909]

a star yu may see in the sky may not actually be there it could have blown up milions of years ago, but as the light travels towards the earth yu are seeing something thats millions of years old when it gets to our eys

[beso]

Stars visible to the naked eye are all within 4000 light years of Earth so won't have blown up millions of years ago.

[Old_Geezer]

Scientific American has a good "Time" special magazine out at the moment. It may answer some of your questions. Try the large newsagents.